File under you never know what you’re responding to:
WATERBURY — Audio of a 911 call reveals a woman pleading for help after her stepson set fire to his room last month in what police have described as a desperate attempt to escape two decades of captivity.
In the 911 call, obtained by CT Insider through a Freedom of Information Act request, Kimberly Sullivan, 56, can be heard urging an emergency dispatcher to send an ambulance to her Blake Street home for her injured stepson.
Sullivan told the dispatcher the fire was related to a TV in her stepson’s room, the audio showed.
“I don’t know, he did something with the TV,” Sullivan can be heard telling the dispatcher.
When asked, Sullivan said she had seen smoke or flames in the house.
“Yes, we need an ambulance,” Sullivan said. “Please, we need an ambulance.”
Waterbury police said the Feb. 17 fire set off an investigation that determined Sullivan had been holding her stepson, who is now 32 years old, captive in his room for 20 years.
Sullivan was arrested Wednesday on charges that include second-degree kidnapping and intentional cruelty to a person. After spending one night in jail, Sullivan was freed Thursday on $300,000 bond.
During the 911 call that night, Sullivan told the dispatcher that her stepson needed help because he had passed out during the fire, the audio showed.
“You said something is on fire and now you need an ambulance, what’s going on there?” the dispatcher asked.
“Yes — his room, the TV in his room,” Sullivan responded.
When asked where her son was injured, Sullivan said she did not know.
“I don’t know, he’s kind of passed out, he’s out of it — please,” Sullivan said.
Police said her stepson used a lighter, hand sanitizer and paper to set fire to hit room in an effort to escape.
“Oh my god, its like all of the power in the house is out. I don’t know if it blew a fuse,” Sullivan told the dispatcher in the 911 call.
After being instructed by the dispatcher to leave the home, Sullivan said she was going outside and would call her daughter before the 911 audio ended.
Waterbury police body camera footage, obtained by CT Insider through a FOIA request, shows Sullivan standing outside the home holding a dog when the officer arrived. Sullivan told the officer her stepson was still inside before a firefighter is seen carrying the 32-year-old man from the home and into an ambulance. Police said the man is 5-foot-9, but weighed just 68 pounds when he was found.
City officials have said the man was hospitalized after the fire and will likely need extensive physical therapy and mental health treatment.
“I wanted my freedom,” the man told firefighters and EMTs the night of the fire, police said.
https://www.registercitizen.com/waterbury/article/waterbury-ct-man-held-captive-911-call-audio-20222645.php
