The half-sister of a man who has been starved for Connecticut's horror house for decades now hopes that the person responsible for his tragic living conditions is punished and insisting, “I want to fry them all.”
Heather Tessman, who claims she spent years searching for her brother, uncovers a pattern of abuse that authorities likened to a “horror film” after the dramatic rescue of the 32-year-old brother from a home burning in Waterbury last month.
Kimberly Sullivan, 56, the victim's stepmother, was charged with cruelty and lure after alleging that he had suffered him in a small room, starved him and he was heavily taken from drinking water.
“They deserve lonely confinement for the rest of their lives,” Tessmann was furious in an interview with WFSB At one point, about his stepmother and two step-sisters who all lived in the house together.
“I want to see them all fried.”
Tessman, who shares his biological mother with the victim, said he only met his siblings once when she was only three years old.
During the hunt, Tessman claims that people living in the terrifying house, including the victim's stepmother, sister-in-law and his biological father, lied about his whereabouts.
“Personally, I don't think she liked that he wasn't her son. She took it out for him,” Tessmann claimed.
“Her daughters, they go to school, they have friends, they work, they have life. What did he get? A prison cell phone.
Tessman said that when he finally learned the truth, she was sick.
“Our [biological] Mom was texting me when I found out she was going to grab her as soon as possible. We don't talk much, so I know something is going on and she said, 'We found your brother, that was that guy in Waterbury,'' Tessman recalled in an interview with CT Insider.
“I saw it [the news] By passing…and I thought to myself, “What a god! How does this happen?” And a few days later, she grabs me and I start connecting the dots,” she continued.
“I was looking for him when he was 18.”
The victim, who weighed only 68 pounds when he was rescued, is now recovering at the hospital.
Since his rescue, it was not immediately clear whether Tessman or their biological mother had contact with him.
“He needs to know I'm trying to find him and he's important,” Tessman said. “Life continues and we hope to grow and heal from here.”
Shocking details only appeared after the victim purposely burned the house on February 17th, then opened up to police about a hellish situation where he was forced to endure from a child, after burning his house so that he could escape nightmares.
The investigation determined he had been bred for more than 20 years, during which time he was starved and ignored, authorities said.
“He resembles a survivor of Auschwitz's death camp without exaggeration,” officials said of the victim's condition.
Meanwhile, Sullivan has publicly declared her innocence. She is scheduled for court on March 26th.
