How a man used printer paper and hand sanitizer to escape an alleged 20 years of captivity by his stepmother

Both sides of his door had been secured with plywood and a lock, the man would later say, to stop him from getting out.

For years, he’d only been given two sandwiches — egg or tuna salad, or peanut butter — and a small amount of water each day, he’d recall, in the storage space where he was held.

But now, he had a plan.

Printer paper for kindling. Hand sanitizer for fuel. And a lighter.

Emergency personnel responded February 17 to reports of a burning home in Waterbury, Connecticut, city police said.

There, they found a woman – and her 32-year-old stepson.

The stepmother, identified by police as Kimberly Sullivan, had managed to get out safely, police said.

The man – affected by smoke inhalation and exposure to the flames – had needed help.

He soon would admit to police he had started the fire.

On purpose.

After nearly two decades, he wanted his freedom, he told them, as he recounted a hellish tale laid out in an arrest warrant obtained by CNN affiliate WFSB that describes a life of “captivity, abuse and starvation.”