The Fire That Freed Him: Kimberly Sullivan’s House of Horror

Crime Salad

BLACKCAT | Realm

True Crime

4.4 • 3K Ratings

🗓️ 22 March 2025

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A desperate 32-year-old man who risked everything to escape the nightmare he'd been trapped in for years. His prison: a locked room inside a quiet house in Waterbury, Connecticut. Starved, abused, and neglected, he weighed just 68 pounds—less than the average 10-year-old. With no way out and no hope left, he made a final, desperate choice: he set his room on fire. Using only a lighter, hand sanitizer, and paper, he sparked the blaze that could either end his life—or save it. It triggered a race against time as firefighters rushed to a home no one suspected was hiding a horror story. Kimberly Sullivan, his stepmother, is now charged with imprisoning him for over two decades—but she denies everything. Her attorneys claim there’s no real evidence tying her to the abuse. This man lost decades of his life—hidden from the world, voiceless. But now, his story is being told. If you're worried a child may be experiencing abuse, help is available. Contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline by calling or texting 800-422-4453, or visit childhelphotline.org to chat with a live crisis counselor. They're available 24/7 to listen, offer support, and guide you on the next steps. You don't have to face this alone — someone is always ready to help. Sponsors for this episode! LUME: Get over 40% off Lume’s Starter Pack plus free shipping with code CRIMESALAD at LumeDeodorant.com—smell great everywhere! SHOPIFY: Start your $1/month trial and upgrade your business at shopify.com/crimesalad Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, move those routers there.
0:04.0	Oh, hey, it's me, your data center.
0:06.0	And as you can hear, I'm making some big changes in here,
0:09.0	because AI is making some bigger ones everywhere.
0:12.0	So I took a little trip to Nokia.
0:14.0	Super fast routers, optical interconnect, fully automated,
0:18.0	the whole data center networking portfolio, and they deliver. That's them.
0:23.4	Hey, Nokia, right on time. Get your data center AI ready. Someday is here with Nokia.
0:34.7	About 10 years ago, after participating in an after-school program at Chase Park House, Tom Pinone drove across the street to observe the house where one of his former students lived.
0:46.7	He vented his frustrations about the troubling situation to his wife, as he had done many times before.
0:53.1	Despite his efforts, he couldn't determine what
0:55.8	had happened to the boy or secure the help that educators at Barnard Elementary School believed
1:02.3	he needed. Tom warned his wife, I don't know where this kid is, but I'm telling you right now,
1:10.0	we're going to see this story on Dateline
1:12.6	sometime. When listening to Tom discussed the ominous signs he was haunted by back then,
1:19.3	his frustration over the Connecticut Department of Children and Families' refusal to step in,
1:25.4	to save this young student. He was so clearly suffering remains a powerful
1:29.6	force that hasn't dimmed a bit since the boy was pulled out of school over a decade ago,
1:36.4	effectively ending Tom's interactions with him. In an interview for NBC, Connecticut,
1:43.1	Tom Pannon, the former principal of Barnard Elementary School, insisted everyone really was concerned with this child since he was five years old.
1:54.6	You knew something was wrong.
1:56.4	It was grossly wrong.
	...

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