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Elisabeth Fritzl is an Austrian woman who was allegedly imprisoned, sexually abused and beaten by her father, Josef Fritzl, between 1984 and 2008. Austrian police allege he kept her in a soundproofed cellar extending beneath the family house and garden in a village near the town of Amstetten in Lower Austria for 24 years, where she gave birth to a total of seven children fathered by Josef.

Case history

Josef Fritzl is believed to have begun abusing his daughter Elisabeth from the time she was 11 years old in 1977. On 24 August 1984, he allegedly lured her into the cellar of the family home, where he drugged and handcuffed her, and kept her imprisoned until April of 2008.

In September of 1984, a letter in Elisabeth's handwriting appeared, telling her parents to stop looking for her. In either 1988 or 1989 Kerstin, the first of Elisabeth's seven children, was born in the cellar. Her second child, Stefan, was born around a year later. In May 1993, a nine-month-old baby was found outside the family home along with a note from Elisabeth asking for the child to be cared for, followed in December 1994 by another baby, Monika. Elisabeth's parents became the children's foster carers. In May 1996, Elisabeth gave birth to twins. One died after three days and Josef Fritzl allegedly burnt the body. The surviving twin, Alexander, was moved upstairs in 1997. A new note from Elisabeth in 2003 stated she had given birth to a son, Felix, a year earlier. He remained with Kerstin and Stefan in the cellar.

On 19 April 2008 Kerstin was admitted to hospital with a life-threatening illness. A note from her mother asking for help was found hidden in Kerstin's pocket, and the police urged Elisabeth to contact them. Josef Fritzl then released Elisabeth along with Stefan and Felix. DNA tests peformed at the hospital revealed that Josef was the father of Kerstin. On 26 April 2008, Elisabeth and her father appeared together at the hospital where Kerstin was being treated. Elisabeth refused to speak with police until they provided assurance that she would not be forced to see her father again. Josef Fritzl was arrested on suspicion of sexual abuse and abduction. The following day, Elisabeth and her children were taken into care.

On 28 April Josef Fritzl confessed to imprisoning his daughter in a windowless cellar for 24 years and fathering her seven children. Police said Fritzl, an electrical engineering technician, had told investigators how to enter the basement prison through a small hidden door, operated by a secret code. Fritzl's wife, Rosemarie, had been unaware of what happened to Elisabeth. It is believed she assumed her daughter had disappeared voluntarily because of the letters in her handwriting.

See also

• Abduction
• Natascha Kampusch
• Sex slave

References

1. Post Chronicle (2008-04-28). "Video: Elisabeth Fritzl Raped, Trapped By Father Josef Fritzl, Children". Retrieved 2008-04-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
2. Man 'locked daughter in dungeon for 24 years'
3. Timeline: Austrian cellar case
4. ^ Landler, Mark (2008-04-28). "Austria Says Man Locked Up Daughter". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. Daily Mirror, 28 April 2008 'Sex slave father confesses to locking daughter in cellar for 24 years'
6. Austrian cellar case man admits abduction and incest

External links

Austrian Incest Nightmare

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