Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Stepmom Locks 11-year-old in Room for 20 Years | Crime Alert 03.31.25

Episode Date: March 31, 2025

Man hasn't spent more than a minute outside per day in 20 years. Safari taxidermist raises eyebrows transporting a large animal for preservation.  For more crime and justice news go to crimeonline.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Alert, I'm Nancy Grace. Breaking crime news now. An 11-year-old boy in Connecticut hidden away from the world by a stepmom after his father dies. Kimberly Sullivan allegedly holds her stepson captive in their Waterbury home, isolating him from the world and rationing food. A neighbor reports seeing a little boy in the window. He waves, she waves, she looks away, then he's gone. She never sees him again. Aged 14 or 15, he stops leaving the house entirely. Sullivan reportedly liking him in an eight by nine foot room, no heat, no AC, starving him and just allowing him two cups of water a day. Nancy, the now 32-year-old man, escaped his captivity by setting a fire in the room.

While Sullivan escaped unharmed, he suffered burns and smoke inhalation, resulting in hospitalization. The man was severely emaciated, weighing just 70 pounds at 5'9", with matted hair and decaying teeth. The man says he was only allowed out of the room for maybe a minute a day, and had not bathed or used an actual toilet in years. He had to devise a way to relieve himself using a makeshift funnel made from straws to direct urine out the window. Kimberly Sullivan now facing charges of kidnap and cruelty. A beloved giraffe dies at the zoo. Taxidermist Darren Wehner hired to preserve the animal for a museum.

He picks up the giraffe, transports it through Macomb County, Michigan in the bed of his pickup. Drivers notice the unusual sight and share photos online, the giraffe's long neck drooping over the side. Wehner confirms the giraffe is real. He says he loves animals and his work is ethical. He owns St. Clair Flats Taxidermy and partners with South African Safaris to support conservation and tranquilizer-based green hunts. He reassures the public his work respects wildlife conservation. The giraffe is currently 60 hours into the preservation process. Now that's a tall tale. More crime and justice news after this.

Now with the latest crime and justice breaking news, Crime Online's John Limley. New details are emerging in the case against Brian Koberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November 2022. Prosecutors say Koberger bought a K-Bar knife and sheath online months before the murders, evidence they want to present at trial. Court documents reveal that a housemate saw a masked man with, quote, bushy eyebrows in the home the night of the killings. Prosecutors plan to show a photo of Koberger from that same day and let the jury decide if he fits the description. DNA evidence has also linked Koberger to a knife sheath found at the crime scene. His defense team tried to have that evidence thrown out, but a judge denied the request. Koberger, charged with four counts of murder in the deaths of Ethan Chapin, Zaina Kernodle, Madison Mogan, and Kaylee Gonsalves,

is set to go on trial August 11th. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. The U.S. government has released thousands of previously classified documents related to President John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination. As Crime Online's Sydney Sumner tells us, the move sheds new light on a case that has fueled conspiracy theories for decades. The National Archives has declassified over 63,000 pages of records tied to JFK's assassination, following an order by the White House. While much of the collection was already public, this release includes previously redacted details. Historians, including Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia, say it will take time to

analyze the documents. Some files reveal Cold War-era intelligence operations, including CIA efforts against Cuba. A 1991 CIA memo suggests the KGB closely monitored Lee Harvey Oswald in the Soviet Union, but never controlled him. It also noted Oswald was a poor marksman at the time. Despite this disclosure, some records remain classified, citing national security concerns. Jefferson Morley of the Mary Farrell Foundation called their release an encouraging start, but noted many promised files are still missing. The Warren Commission concluded in 1964 that Oswald acted alone, but speculation continues. While these documents may not end the debate,

they offer new insights into one of America's most scrutinized events. Historians will continue to comb through these documents, hoping to fill gaps in the JFK assassination story. Whether they put lingering doubts to rest remains to be seen. Thanks, John. 16-year-old Daniel Ted Yuen vanishes from the Seadoo School, a facility known for taking in runaways, Running Springs, California. Since the day he arrived, he's threatened to run away. Daniel struggles with depression and after a breakup, tells parents he's afraid of other students. Feb. 8, he tells classmates he's going to buy cigarettes.

He takes no ID or personal belongings. He vanishes. His family hires a PI who scours San Diego's Hilltop Community Park. Witnesses say Daniel is panhandling. A caller leaves a voicemail stating Daniel is safe but doesn't want to be found. Another witness describes seeing him in San Diego with a woman and child. Daniel is Asian, 5'6", 125 pounds, now missing since 2004. If you have info on Daniel Ted Yuen, please call San Bernardino County Sheriff's 909-387-3690. For the latest crime and justice news, go to crimeOnline.com. And please join us for our daily podcast, Crime Stories, where we do our best to find missing people, especially children, and solve unsolved homicides.

With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace. This is an iHeart Podcast.