[SIZE=7]Mother ‘Kept Son Locked Up For Decades’[/SIZE]
A woman in Stockholm was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of keeping her son locked up in their apartment for decades, authorities said.
According to AFP, local media in Sweden reported that the man had been held captive for 28 years, starting when he was 12 years old.
Swedish newspaper Expressen reported that an unnamed relative of the family found the son while the mother was at the hospital on Sunday.
“I’m in shock, brokenhearted, but at the same time relieved. I’ve been waiting for this day for 20 years,” the relative told Expressen.
[ATTACH=full]337057[/ATTACH]
Neighbors said they had not seen the son, now 41, for years – or ever.
Tove Boman, a 24-year-old who lives in the building next door, told AFP she had only seen the mother. “I grew up here so I’ve always known who she is and recognised her. She’s a little strange,” she said.
The Expressen and Aftonbladet newspapers reported that the woman had taken her son out of school when he was 12 and kept him locked inside the apartment since then.
An unnamed relative found the man on Sunday after the mother had been taken to hospital, Expressen reported.
The man had infected sores on his legs, could barely walk, and had almost no teeth, limiting his ability to speak, the reports said.