Fritzl Case

The Fritzl case emerged in April 2008 when a 42-year-old woman, Elisabeth Fritzl (born April 6, 1966), stated to police in the town of Amstetten, Austria, that she had been held captive for 24 years in a concealed corridor part of the basement area of the family home, a condominium-style apartment complex built by her father, Josef Fritzl (born April 9, 1935), and that Fritzl hadphysicallyassaulted, sexually abused, and raped her numerous times during her imprisonment. The incestuous relationship forced upon her by her father resulted in the birth of seven children and one miscarriage.
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Elisabeth Fritzl's confinement
Three of the children were imprisoned along with their mother Elisabeth for the whole of their lives: daughter Kerstin, aged19, and sons Stefan, 18, and Felix, 5. One child, Michael, died of respiratory problems three days after birth, having been deprived of all medical help; his body was incinerated by Josef Fritzl on his property. The three other children were raised by Fritzl and his wife Rosemarie in the upstairs home. Fritzl engineered the appearance of these children as foundlings discovered outside his house:Lisa at nine months in 1993, Monika at ten months in 1994, and Alexander at 15 months in 1997. When the eldest daughter, Kerstin, became seriously ill, Josef acceded to Elisabeth's pleas to take her to a hospital, triggering a series of events that eventually led to their discovery.
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Josef Fritzl's arrest
Josef Fritzl, aged 73, was arrested on April26, 2008 on suspicion of serious crimes against family members and went on trial in Sankt Pölten, Austria on March 16, 2009.[1][2] He was charged with incest, rape, coercion, false imprisonment, enslavement and the negligent homicide of the infant Michael.[3][4] After a four-day trial from which the public and the media were largely excluded, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.[5]-------------------------------------------------
Key events
The key events, in this case, are as follows:
Date | Key event |
1977 | Fritzl begins sexually abusing his 11-year-old daughter, Elisabeth. |
1981 to 1982 | Fritzl begins to turn the hidden cellar into a prison cell. |
August 29, 1984 | Fritzl lures Elisabeth, now 18 years old, into the basement and imprisons her. |
November 1986 | Elisabethhas a miscarriage in the 10th week of pregnancy. |
1989 | The first child, Kerstin, is born, and lives in the cellar until 2008. |
1990 | Stefan is born. He, too, stays in the cellar until 2008. |
1992 | Lisa is born. In May 1993, when she is nine months old, she is discovered outside the family home in a cardboard box, allegedly left there by Elisabeth, along with a note asking for the child tobe looked after. |
February 1994 | The fourth child, Monika, is born. |
1994 | After repeated requests by Elisabeth, Fritzl allows the enlargement of the prison. Elisabeth and her children were put to work for years digging out soil with their hands. The prison was enlarged from 35 m² (380 sq ft) to 55 m² (600 sq ft). |
December 1994 | Ten-month-old Monika is found in a stroller outside theentrance of the house. Shortly afterwards, a phone call is made to Rosemarie, apparently, from Elisabeth. The caller asks Rosemarie to take care of the child. However, it is assumed that Fritzl was able to use a recording of Elisabeth's voice to make the call. Rosemarie reported the incident to the police, expressing her astonishment that Elisabeth knew their new and unlisted phone number. |
May1996 | Elisabeth gives birth to twin boys. One dies after three days; Fritzl removes his body from the cellar and cremates it. The surviving twin, Alexander, is taken upstairs when he is 15 months old. He is "discovered" in circumstances similar to those of his two sisters. |
December 2002 | Felix is born. According to a statement by Fritzl, he kept Felix in the cellar, together with Elisabeth...