Kimberly Sullivan appeared in Waterbury Superior Court Friday where she formally rejected all plea offers in the case and opted to take her chances with a jury, which wasn't a surprise.
"I've said all along, she's maintained her innocence. So, we knew all along she wasn't accepting an offer," Sullivan's attorney, Iaonnis Kaloidis, said after the hearing.
In July, the state made an offer of 30 years in prison, suspended after Sullivan serves 20 years, followed by five years of probation. Judge Corinne Klatt said at the time that if Sullivan took the deal, Klatt would impose her own sentence of 30 years, suspended after Sullivan serves 10, along with five years of probation. Kaloidis previously told reporters any deal with incarceration was a "non-starter."
"I certainly anticipated this is what would happen," said Attorney Gene Riccio, who represents Sullivan's stepson, a now-32-year-old man who goes by the initial "S." "We're going to be ready to go when the time comes to appear in court to testify regarding these acts of wanton cruelty."
Both attorneys said jury selection will likely begin in January with the trial starting in February.
Sullivan is charged with two counts of kidnapping, along with assault, unlawful restraint and cruelty to persons. The case has grabbed headlines around the world because of the extent of what Waterbury police said occurred in the home and how they uncovered the alleged abuse. Sullivan is accused of locking her stepson in an 8-by-9-foot room for two decades with barely any food or water and no toilet. Police said it started when he was 11 after Sullivan and her husband, who died in 2024, pulled him out of elementary school.
Sullivan was arrested in March 2025 after emergency crews responded to a fire at her home on Blake Street the month before. Her stepson, who was 31 at the time, later told police he started the fire in a bid to escape. When firefighters rescued him, police said he weighed just 68 pounds.
Despite the case's publicity, Kaloidis said he does not anticipate asking for a change of venue. Due to the charges, a jury of six would be tasked with deciding Sullivan's fate.
"We've asked people to keep an open mind, not to rush to judgement. When the evidence comes out at trial and the testimony comes out from various witnesses, we think the picture that's been painted will be very different," Kaloidis said.
Also on Friday, the judge denied Kaloidis' request to remove Sullivan's GPS ankle monitor from her conditions of release. Kaloidis argued that Sullivan has had no issues while out on bond the past 18 months and brought up her lack of criminal history. Though Klatt kept GPS monitoring, she took Sullivan off of intensive pretrial supervision, which means Sullivan won't have to report to probation weekly and instead will do so monthly.
The case returns to court Oct. 20 for a pre-trial hearing.