Woman accused of holding stepson captive for 20 years in abusive conditions to face trial in February

The case of a Connecticut woman accused of holding her stepson captive for more than two decades is set to go to trial in February.

A judge at the Waterbury Judicial District Courthouse was presented with a series of confidential documents in the case against Kimberly Sullivan during a hearing Tuesday. Sullivan was not present at the hearing.

In the coming weeks, the judge is expected to review records obtained through a subpoena from the Department of Children and Families, Waterbury Public Schools and an undisclosed treatment center. He will then determine which ones can be used during the trial.

Sullivan’s case gained national attention after shocking details about allegations that her stepson had lived in captivity since the age of 11 began to emerge following his arrest in March 2025.

According to an affidavit, Sullivan’s 32-year-old stepson told police he spent almost his entire life being abused, starved and held captive — prompting him to intentionally start a fire in his bedroom in order to regain his freedom.

At the home, police found the man severely malnourished, noting that he had not received medical or dental care in years and had been subjected to “prolonged abuse, starvation, severe neglect and inhumane treatment,” according to police.

At the time of Sullivan’s arrest, his 5-foot-9 stepson weighed 68 pounds.

“It was worse than the conditions of a jail cell,” Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo said last year of the man’s living conditions.

In April 2025, Waterbury police released dozens of photos from inside the home in a Freedom of Information request to NBC Connecticut, showing rooms cluttered with objects, walls covered in smoke and destroyed by the fire, and doors with locks on the exterior.

Ioannis Kaloidis, Sullivan’s lawyer, denounced the publication of the images, telling NBC Connecticut that the police decision was “shocking, offensive and, frankly, ethically questionable” and threatened his client’s right to “a fair trial.”

Sullivan has pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping, assault, unlawful restraint and intentional cruelty to persons.

Sullivan also rejected two different plea deals in September: one proposed by the judge, giving him a 30-year sentence suspended after serving 10 years, and another by the state. The latter included 30 years in prison, suspended after 20 years of detention, and five years of probation.

Kaloidis said his client had always “maintained her innocence.”

At Tuesday’s hearing, Kaloidis filed a series of motions, including a request for a 12-member jury, instead of six, and another asking prosecutors not to refer to Sullivan’s stepson as “the victim” during the trial. The first motion will be debated at the next court hearing scheduled for November 23. The judge allowed the second on Tuesday.

Sullivan’s stepson, who is only identified in court by the pseudonym S., is expected to testify at the trial, NBC Connecticut reported.

The judge granted a motion filed by Kaloidis on Tuesday requesting that any information that could call into question or undermine the credibility of S. and his sister, who is also expected to testify, be shared during the pretrial phase.

If convicted next year, Sullivan faces more than 45 years in prison.

Jury selection for the February trial is expected to begin about a month before.