Shortly before the kidnapping, Matthew Yussman had his then-70-year-old mother move in to his Bristol home after the death of his father. He wanted her to be looked after, but he never could have imagined the horror they would go through together.

On that fateful February night, Yussman was attacked in the garage shortly after returning home. 

He later recounted to authorities that his kidnappers must have learned his schedule, because they must have known that his neighbors didn't have windows facing Yussman's garage. When he was taken down, nobody could have seen it happen. 

After the assailants got control of him, they tied him up, and they also tied Valerie Yussman up in her bedroom. The men threatened them both, and instilled a strong sense of fear in both of them. 

The next morning, Yussman was informed that he had to go to the credit union that he worked at in New Britain and he had to take $1 million. They told him that he would be motivated to do so quickly because they were going to strap a bomb to him. 

They also explained that they would put a bomb on his mother as well. 

It was later determined that Yussman was picked as a victim because he had worked at the credit union for 15 years. When he went to work to get the money, he told his manager. The police were waiting when Yussman arrived on the scene, but the kidnappers took off before they could be apprehended. 

But, the bomb was still strapped to both Yussman and his mother. As the detonation time approached, Yussman grew concerned that he and his mother would be harmed. When the clock struck the 11:00 a.m., the would-be explosion time, he and police learned that the bombs were never real. They were, in fact, made from plastic.