Dad Accused Of Keeping Daughter Captive 24 Yrs. In Austria Admits Rape & Incest – But Not Murder
Posted March 16, 2009 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It is a stunning admission but not a full one. Josef Fritzl, the father accused of keeping his daughter captive in a hidden basement dungeon for an incredible 24 years and fathering seven children by her, admitted to rape, incest and false imprisonment in an Austrian court on Monday.
But he pleaded not guilty to murder in connection with the death of one of those offspring. And he insists he’s innocent of the charge of enslaving his eldest child for most of her life.
The story of Fritzl’s alleged double life made headlines across the world last year, as the tale of his daughter’s disappearance and rediscovery emerged from the secreted cellar after more than two decades.
Elisabeth Fritzl was just 18 when she claims her father forced into the prison she would occupy for a quarter of a century. He told family members she had run away to join a religious cult.
The dungeon had a special electronic lock and only the 73-year-old had the combination. He would frequently visit his daughter for sex, leaving most of the children they had together down there with her. Three of them had never seen daylight in their lives.
And then last April, one of them – now a teenager – got sick and had to be transported to hospital, allowing the long buried secret to finally surface. When Elisabeth finally emerged from her prison in the city of Amstetten, she was 42.
The murder charge stems from accusations that when a newborn he fathered had breathing problems, Fritzl is is said to have made no effort to get the baby any medical attention. The child was just three days old when he died and his father allegedly threw the body into a backyard incinerator to destroy the evidence of his existence.
The former engineer kept his head hidden behind a series of blue folders as he made his plea (top left), shielding himself from prying cameras, putting the covers down only when photographers left the courtroom.
Josef Fritzl
In her opening statement, the prosecutor accused Fritzl of not even talking to his daughter in the first several years of her captivity, and punishing her by occasionally turning off the electricity, leaving her buried alone underground with limited air and no lights.
The defence has asked the jury not to pre-judge the accused dad, noting he’s not the “monster” press reports have made him out to be.
The jury will hear a pre-taped deposition from Elisabeth on Tuesday, an 11-hour marathon previously recorded to ensure she would not have to face her father again.
Whatever the verdict, justice in this case should be swift. The trial is expected to wrap up by Friday. If found guilty of murder, Fritzl would receive life in prison. As it is he’ll do more jail time. The crimes he’s already admitted to carry a minimum punishment of 15 years in jail.
Previous stories:
“I am not a monster”: accused dad
Family reunited for first time
Accused father was ‘tyrant’ at home
Father accused of being ‘incest addict’
Father found fit to stand trial
Photo credit: Robert Jaeger/AFP/Getty Images
