After a man was found emaciated inside a home in Waterbury, telling police he was locked in a room for decades, his stepmom was back in court Thursday. She posted bond and is now walking free.
Finding out that someone was allegedly held captive in a house in Waterbury for about two decades was a shock to a next-door neighbor who has lived here for 10 years.
“I was right by here this whole time and he was going through that suffering. It's heartbreaking. I just I hope he'll be okay,” Zeffery Guarnera, of Waterbury, said.
Guarnera said years ago, a family member playing outside potentially spotted the alleged victim who might have looked like a kid.
“She was just a 10-year-old child on the swing doing what kids do, looked up in the window, saw a little child. She said he had a baseball cap on. He waved to her. She waved to him and that was it. He walked away and, you know, she never saw him again,” Guarnera said.
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Guarnera said in all the years, he’s not certain he ever saw the man, though he wonders if that was who he saw outside doing chores sometimes.
At this point the now 32-year-old’s name has not been released. The mayor has asked people to respect his privacy.
“It's truly horrifying and it's beyond comprehension what occurred here. The young man's unimaginable suffering over the course of two decades is just a reminder of the darkness that does exist in our world,” Mayor Paul K. Pernerewski Jr. (D – Waterbury) said.
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This case has stunned even veteran officers.
We’re told investigators collected and brought him items – like clothing and books – as he begins his recovery.
“Our plan is to continue to support him. He's going to need a lot of support as he travels through this and tries to figure out how to navigate what has occurred and what the future holds for him,” Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo said.
