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.

A Waterbury woman is accused of holding her stepson captive for 20 years and providing little water and little food. The man, who is now 32 years old, weighed only 68 pounds when he escaped by setting fire to the house,

Connecticut authorities who responded to a house fire in Waterbury last month found something even more disturbing than the fire. An emaciated 32-year-old man with matted hair and rotting teeth told them he'd started the fire because he'd been held captive in the home for decades and he wanted to escape.

"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