The family of Josef Fritzl, the Austrian man accused of
imprisoning and raping his daughter in a cellar for 24 years, released their
first public message, a hand-written poster hung in a local shop window thanking people for their support.
The sign reads: We, the whole family, would like to use this occasion to thank you all for your sympathy with our fate. Your compassion really helps us to cope with this difficult time and shows us that there are also good and honest people.
Police to Quiz Josef Fritzl's Wife Again The wife of Josef Fritzl, who imprisoned his daughter for 24 years beneath their house and had seven children with her, is to be questioned again by police to determine whether she knew about his secret life in the cellar. Detectives are to conduct a forensic search of the upper floors of the “house of horrors” where Fritzl, 73, lived with Rosemarie, his 68-year-old wife, while their daughter Elisabeth was locked in the basement. “We think Fritzl acted alone but cannot exclude the possibility that someone else was aware of what was going on downstairs,” said Frank Polzer, the chief investigator.
This is one route I did not expect the Austrian incest story to take. Josef Fritzl, the father who imprisoned his daughter for 24 years, is claiming
being raised in Nazi times instilled him with the "decency and uprightness" that led him to keep his daughter in the cellar for almost a quarter of a century. He was instilling discipline in his unruly daughter and had “rescued” Elisabeth (then 18) to keep her from “going out to seedy bars” and “drinking and smoking.”
Fritzl explains his actions through a series of jailhouse notes passed to his lawyer like this: I have always had high regard for decency and uprightness.
Here's a quick roundup of new developments out of Austria in the
Josef Fritzl incest story. The more details that come out, the crazier it becomes:
- Dungeon Plans: Police say the Austrian man accused of holding his daughter captive for 24 years planned to build his secret cell as early as 1978, when she was just 12 years old. — AP
- Held Behind Eight Doors: Elisabeth Fritzl was imprisoned behind eight locked doors during the 24 years that her father held her in the cellar of his house in Austria, police have revealed.
More details are coming out of the cellar in the horrifying imprisonment/incest story — despite the Austrian government's efforts to minimize one of the most bizarre cases in recent memory. After Josef Fritzl was arrested for imprisoning his daughter in a
windowless room for over 24 years and forcing her to conceive seven children, Austria's chancellor, Alfred Gusenbauer, said “it’s not Austria that is the perpetrator. .
A 73-year-old Austrian man has just confessed to imprisoning his daughter in a cellar for 24 years and fathering her seven children, according to authorities. The head of the local criminal affairs bureau said that the man accused, "Josef F" had
confessed during questioning. There's a press conference happening soon.
The woman abused is now 42, and has six surviving children fathered by her own father.
