A 70-year-old woman in Stockholm, Sweden, has been arrested by Swedish authorities after the discovery of her 41-year-old son who it is said was kept prisoner inside their small apartment for 28 years.
The discovery came after one of the woman's relatives managed to gain access to the flat, where she then found the man in extremely poor health. The relative said that they had long held suspicions that the man was in the apartment and that he was being potentially controlled by the mother.
The relative found the man sleeping on the kitchen floor with a blanket covering him. He has now been taken to hospital, but it is said that his injuries are not life-threatening.
The relative said of the discovery:
"I'm in shock, broken-hearted, but at the same time relieved. I've been waiting for this day for 20 years because I figured out that she was totally controlling his life, but I never imagined the extent of it. I'm just thankful that he got help and is going to survive."
Swedish newspaper, Expressen, says it is believed that the mother pulled the boy out of school in 1991 when he was just 12, since then it is thought that he rarely left the house. Poor mental-health is being cited as the reason behind the woman's actions, enflamed by a family incident that had happened around the time she decided to keep the boy prisoner.
The man's physical condition was said to include wounds and open sores on his legs, an almost complete lack of teeth, and the inability to walk properly. The home was also said to be in a terrible condition with rubbish strewn about and an old television that was left permanently on. One neighbour even said that an advent calendar had sat in the front window untouched for around 30 years.
One neighbour did describe seeing the son once outside of the home in a shopping centre, the man then approached the neighbour and simply said:
"I know who you are, you're my neighbour."
However, most of those living in the community say that they never saw the man out in public in the almost three decades since his incarceration.
Stockholm police released a statement saying:
"The mother is suspected of illegal deprivation of liberty and causing bodily harm. The man is in hospital. His injuries are not life-threatening."
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