The man said he was locked in an eight-by-nine-foot room and was fed two sandwiches a day with two cups of water for years, according to a police affidavit in Connecticut.

An emaciated man, 32, says he was held in his room for 20 years and set it on fire to gain his freedom, according to police. His stepmother was charged with cruelty and kidnapping.

"He lit that fire very well knowing he could die, but he had been locked in the room for 20 years," prosecutors said during Kimberly Sullivan's arraignment

A Connecticut man allegedly held captive and starved by his stepmother for more than two decades escaped the small room he had been locked away in by setting their house on fire, authorities said Wednesday.

A woman allegedly held her stepson captive for 20 years before he made a brave act to escape, knowing it could kill him. Kimberly Sullivan was arrested this week after a man identified as her 32-year-old stepson told police he intentionally set a fire at the house where the horrifying acts had allegedly happened.

A man intentionally started a fire in a room he had allegedly been held captive in for more than 20 years during an attempt to escape. Police in Connecticut were called on Feb. 17 for a report of an active fire at a Blake Street residence in Waterbury.

The 32-year-old man told firefighters that he intentionally set fire to his stepmom's home and said, "I wanted my freedom" after 20 years of captivity.