A relative discovered the woman's son, now 41, inside the "filthy" apartment on Sunday after becoming suspicious and breaking in. Photo / Getty Images, AP
A relative discovered the woman's son, now 41, inside the "filthy" apartment on Sunday after becoming suspicious and breaking in. Photo / Getty Images, AP
A mother has been arrested after she allegedly kept her 41-year-old son imprisoned for 28 years in her flat in Sweden.
Authorities were called to the apartment after a suspicious relative broke into the flat and found the woman's son locked inside.
The son was taken to hospital after medics found him severely malnourished, had sores and open wounds covering his legs, had almost no teeth and was struggling to walk and talk.
He underwent surgery for non-life-threatening injuries.
Officers then arrested the woman and cordoned off the property.
Swedish media reported the mother kept her son prisoner in the apartment after pulling him out of school in 1984, at the age of 12.
Sources told newspaper Aftonbladet that the mother was "very overprotective" of her son due to a "family incident" that had happened some years before.
Neighbours said the woman's apartment looked dirty and unkempt, with a candle standing in a window for at least 30 years.
They said she would often stop and chat, but when she was asked about her son she would say he was "fine" and would quickly change the subject.
A number of neighbours claim to have never met the son, or realised he was living in the apartment until police arrived.
One of the woman's relatives made the discovery after suspecting she was controlling the boy's life but wasn't sure to what extent.
The man was found on a blanket in the kitchen that was covered in pus from open sores on his legs, had no teeth left and was also struggling to talk and walk, sources said. Photo / Getty Images
She broke into the flat while the mother was in hospital for more than a week and discovered the son lying on a blanket on the floor of the kitchen.
The relative said the flat hadn't been cleaned in years and stunk of urine and rotten food.
Rubbish was piled up in the hallways that it was difficult to walk through.
The boy was left with just a cheese sandwich, a can of mackerel and a bowl of chips to survive on.
The relative hadn't seen the boy in more than 20 years, but he recognised her and kept whispering his name.
"I'm in shock, brokenhearted, 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," the relative said.
"I'm just thankful that he got help and is going to survive."
