The Austria Dungeon Case- (disturbing content) - Thread #2 -trial update p.7

[Roo]

Thread #1 that Twiggers posted breaking this story can be found here:

http://forum.purseblog.com/up-to-the...ml#post6407061

Here's a timeline of this case:

The events included are based on Austrian police statements issued after the arrest of Josef Fritzl, the 73-year-old father.


28 August 1984

Mr Fritzl lures his daughter Elisabeth into the cellar of their house, drugging and handcuffing her before locking her up. Elisabeth later tells investigators she was sexually abused by her father even before he incarcerated her.

Date unknown

Mr Fritzl and his wife Rosemarie receive a letter in Elisabeth's handwriting saying they should not try to look for her. Rosemarie is unaware of the truth, Elisabeth later tells police.


1988-89 (approximately)

Kerstin, the first of seven reported children, is secretly born (exact date unknown) and raised in the cellar. She is followed shortly by a brother.


1993

A baby is discovered outside the family home along with a letter from Elisabeth saying she cannot care for it. It is taken in by Mr Fritzl and his wife. A second infant appears in 1994. Both are either fostered or adopted, and are raised by their grandparents.


1996

Twins are born to Elisabeth but one dies shortly after birth. The body is allegedly taken away and disposed of in an incinerator by Mr Fritzl.


1997

A third infant appears at the house, and is taken in like the previous two, to be raised by grandparents.


1998

According to media reports Mr Fritzl goes to Thailand for four weeks, one of several such trips. Officials have said the hidden family may have been left with food stores to see them through such absences.


2003

A letter arrives from Elisabeth to say she had another baby in December 2002. This child is believed to have been brought up in the cellar along with Kerstin and her brother.


Saturday 19 April 2008


Police issue an appeal to missing person Elisabeth Fritzl to contact them about her daughter Kerstin, who has been admitted to hospital in Amstetten with a serious illness.


Mr Fritzl had told staff her mother was unable and unwilling to look after the 19-year-old and had left her in front of his house.


19-26 April

At some point during the week, according to the police statement, Mr Fritzl releases Elisabeth and the two other children from the cellar, telling his wife Rosemarie she has chosen to return home.


Saturday 26 April

Police pick up Mr Fritzl and Elisabeth near the Amstetten hospital where Kerstin is being treated. Elisabeth's children are found at the house.


Sunday 27 April



Police announce the arrest of Mr Fritzl on suspicion of incest and abduction. All the children are placed in care and Elisabeth is given medical and psychological treatment. Mr Fritz gives police the code to unlock a hidden door to a basement living space made up of a network of tiny windowless chambers.

All the children except Kerstin meet for the first time, and Elisabeth is reunited with her mother.


Monday 28 April

Mr Fritzl confesses to imprisoning Elisabeth in a cellar for 24 years and fathering her seven children. He confirms to investigators that one of their children died in infancy and that he had taken the dead body and thrown it into an incinerator.



Tuesday 29 April


Police announce that DNA tests confirm that Mr Fritzl is the father of Elisabeth's children.


As Kerstin remains in hospital, in a serious but stable condition, Mr Fritzl appears before a magistrate and is remanded in custody.


Officials report an "astonishing" reunion between Elisabeth, now 42, and two of the three children who had lived with her in the cellar - the 18- and five-year-old brothers - with her other children.




Later in the day hundreds of people in Amstetten take part in a candle-lit gathering - organised by a local convent school - to express their solidarity and outrage.


Wednesday 30 April

Police say Mr Fritzl is refusing to answer any questions in the wake of his initial signed confession.


His daughter and the children are being looked after together in the isolated wing of a medical clinic, under the 24-hour supervision of a multi-disciplinary care team. Those held captive are getting used to space, light and especially the different food, officials say. An improvised birthday party has been held for the 12-year-old.



Austria's chancellor, Alfred Gusenbauer, vows to protect the country's image with a campaign abroad, saying: "We won't allow the whole country to be held hostage by one man."





Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/h...pe/7370208.stm

VIDEO STORY:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph6et2pZfrQ

[Roo]

18/05/08 - News section

Sex dungeon victim Elisabeth Fritzl to give dramatic TV interview about her 24-year ordeal
By ALLAN HALL
Elisabeth Fritzl is to talk about the 24 years she was imprisoned in her father's dungeon on Austrian TV.

Miss Fritzl, 42, is thought to have chosen the same interviewer who spoke to Natascha Kampusch about the eight and a half years she was imprisoned in a cellar.
Miss Kampusch, now 20, escaped in August 2006 and told of her ordeal on Austrian ORF TV.

Miss Fritzl could make millions of pounds in syndicated rights for the interview. It is thought that more than 300 TV stations will broadcast it.

She is expected to talk about the first time she was raped by her father Josef, 73, and how she coped with multiple births alone in the dungeon.

The interview has been organised in part to reduce the pressure on the family from photographers camped at the door to Amstetten-Mauer hospital where Miss Fritzl is in a secure ward with her mother Rosemarie, 69, and five of her six children.
Miss Fritzl's eldest daughter Kerstin, 19, is still in a coma.

Josef Fritzl is to undergo DNA testing to see if he is the killer of three women whose murders have remained unsolved in Austria.

Natascha Kampusch broke free from an eight-and-a-half year captivity in August 2006 and told the world of her ordeal on ORF TV in her homeland.

Media reports in Austria say that Elisabeth is now poised to do the same after marathon negotiations between the TV station and her lawyer.
Upwards of 300 TV stations globally will pay handsomely to beam it live or in repeat showings.

Media in Austria said none of the children - either the three she gave birth to who lived upstairs from her underground tomb nor the two of three healthy ones forced to endure her captivity below - will be in the studio with her.

Christoph Feurstein, the journalist who interviewed Natascha for her first - and subsequent - TV appearances, has been lined up for what promises to be a gripping television spectacle.

It is expected to be broadcast next Monday evening (May 26).

Elisabeth is also expected to talk about how she felt after one of her stillborn child was burned in a stove by her father after it died; how she thought she would never see sunlight again; and her hopes for a more normal future with the children who adore her.

"Elisabeth's hatred of her father is a bottomless pit," said one ORF source.

"It might not be good for the psychological healing process but Elisabeth's heart pumps nothing but pure venom for him."

It is unclear whether she will have to wear tinted glasses for the interview. Her eyes are still very weak from years of never seeing sunshine and high-powered studio lights could, fear doctors, be too much for her.

There is increasing tension between authorities and paparazzi who know that a picture of Elisabeth or her children would be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

In a weekend fracas a security guard at the hospital was injured after he fell from a balcony while tackling a photographer.
Hospital officials confirmed that 17 lensmen have been caught in recent weeks trying to get into the Amstetten Mauer hospital.

They included one dressed as a policeman, another that disguised himself as a cleaner and a third who dug a hole in the grounds, filled it with provisions and then covered himself with a bird watcher's hide in the hope of the life-changing picture.
He was caught by a sniffer dog while several others hiding in trees have been rumbled with thermal imaging cameras provided by local mountain rescue guides usually used to spot trapped climbers or stranded skiiers.

Austrian media also reported yesterday that a hospital worker had taken secret pictures of the family and was offering them for sale at 300,000 euros - £260,000.

Officials have sent a letter to staff warning them that there will be legal consequences and a claim for damages that would "far exceed any profit made from the sale of such photos."

The Fritzl family staying at the clinic include Elisabeth and her two children from the cellar Stefan, 18, and Felix six, and her three children that lived in freedom - Alexander 12, Monika 14 and Lisa 15.

Elisabeth's mother Rosemarie is also in the hospital.

Daughter Kerstin, 19, the third cellar captive, is still in a coma. Meanwhile Josef Fritzl is to undergo new DNA testing to see if he is the killer of three women whose murders have gone unsolved in his homeland.

Police chief Franz Polzer says he is being considered as a suspect in the 1986 murder of 17-year-old Martina Posch, and two other murders in 1966 and 2007.

Also on Sunday another major newspaper, the Kurier, asked the question in a headline: "Is Austria the heart of darkness?"

It said that 64 percent of Austrians believe the image of the country has been damaged as a result of the Amstetten case.


Find this story at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1770

[Roo]

Tonight's updates (copied from the first thread in case anyone missed them):

Cellar victim to face world on TV

http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/...rld.4095866.jp

Published Date: 19 May 2008

By ALLAN HALL
IN BERLIN


AUSTRIAN incest victim Elisabeth Fritzl is to emerge from the shadows of her cellar nightmare to give a television interview.

Elisabeth, 42, has reportedly chosen the same channel and the same interviewer who coaxed previous dungeon captive Natascha Kampusch to tell her side of the story.

Natascha, now 20, broke free from an eight-and-a-half year hell in August 2006 and told the world of her ordeal on ORF TV in her homeland. Media reports in Austria say that Elisabeth is now prepared to do the same after marathon negotiations between the station and her lawyer.

The interview has been organised in part to reduce the pressure on the family from media camped at the door of their hospital. There is increasing tension between authorities and paparazzi who know that a picture of Elisabeth or her children would be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

A security guard at the hospital has been injured after he fell from a balcony while tackling a photographer.

Hospital officials confirmed 17 lensmen have been caught trying to get into the Amstetten Mauer hospital, and have been escorted from the property.

They included one who dressed as a policeman, another dressed as a cleaner and a third who had dug a hole in the ground and filled it with provisions – then covered himself with a bird-watcher's hide in the hope of a snap.

The bird-tent photographer was caught by a sniffer dog while several other snappers hiding in trees have been caught after local mountain rescue crews provided clinic security guards with thermal imaging cameras. The cameras are usually used to spot trapped climbers or stranded skiers. But Austrian media also reported yesterday that a hospital worker had taken secret snaps of the family and was offering them for sale at 300,000 euros – £260,000.

Officials have sent a letter to staff, warning them that there will be legal consequences and a claim for damages that would "far exceed any profit made from the sale of such photos".

Elisabeth will reportedly receive no money for her television appearance but will, like Natascha before her, stand to make millions of pounds in syndicated rights around the world as upwards of 300 stations globally will pay to beam it live or pay for resale rights.

Media in Austria said none of the children – either the three she gave birth to who lived upstairs from her underground tomb, or the two of the three healthy offspring forced to endure her captivity below – will be in the studio with her.

Elisabeth is expected to talk about the first time she was raped by her father Josef, 73, how she coped with giving birth in the damp cellar, what she felt when her stillborn child was burned in a stove by her father, how she thought she would never see sunlight again and her hopes for a more normal future with the children who adore her.

There are currently seven members of the Fritzl family staying at the clinic including Elisabeth and her two children from the cellar – Stefan, 18, and Felix, six – and her three children who lived in freedom – Alexander, 12, Monika, 14, and Lisa, 15. Elisabeth's mother Rosemarie is also in the hospital. Daughter Kerstin, 19, the third cellar captive, is still in a coma.

ORF will not deny or confirm the interview, saying only that it has been in "strong negotiations" with Elisabeth's lawyer.

It is understood that the family insisted the first talk should go to a domestic Austrian TV station.

Fritzl in frame over three unsolved murders

JOSEF Fritzl is to undergo new DNA testing to see if he is the killer of three women whose murders have gone unsolved in his homeland.

Police chief Franz Polzer says Elisabeth Fritzl's father is being considered as a suspect in the murder of 17-year-old Martina Posch, murdered in 1986 and her body hidden in bushes for several days before it was thrown into the Mondsee lake near Salzburg, and two other murders in 1966 and 2007.

Fritzl's wife owned a guesthouse on the other side of the lake, reports said.

He may also be linked to the murder of Anna Neumauer, 17, who was killed with two shots in the head and dumped in a cornfield in lower Austria.

Both murders were believed to be sex-related. According to the German newspaper Bild, police are also trying to establish a connection between Fritzl and the murder of Gabriele Supekova, a 42-year-old prostitute whose body was found near the Austrian border in August 2007.

Meanwhile, Austrian newspaper the Kurier asked the question in a headline: "Is Austria the heart of darkness?"

It said 64 per cent of Austrians believe the image of the country has been damaged.

[Roo]

Arnie wants holiday for dungeon kids
19 May 2008, 0052 hrs IST,ANI

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Arnie_wants_holiday_for_dungeon_kids/articleshow/3051556.cms

LONDON: Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to give the Austrian cellar victims their first holiday - to Hollywood.

Austria-born Arnold was horrified to learn that incest dad Josef Fritzl had locked up some of the six children born to his daughter Elisabeth. As governor of California, he now plans to invite Elisabeth and all the kids to Hollywood.

"He's absolutely determined to do something for this family," The Daily Star quoted a source, as saying.

With every major movie company chasing film rights to the Fritzl story, heavyweight Arnold could also help steer Elisabeth, 42, to a multi-million dollar deal that would set her and her family up for life.

The source said: "Without doubt, he can make sure they meet all the right movers and shakers. But the main thing is to help them enjoy their freedom by giving them the trip of a lifetime. He will pay for it privately and Elisabeth and her children will be personal guests," the source added.

[Roo]

Josef Fritzl: Wrong to reunite families, say experts

By Andreas Sam, Vienna
Last updated: 10:10 PM BST 18/05/2008


Authorities of the hospital where the family of Josef Fritzl are being treated have been criticised for reuniting the two sets of siblings – the one that led a normal life upstairs and the other forced to dwell in an underground dungeon.

Reunion of Josef Fritzl's family has sparked criticism



Despite claims from doctors that the family are interacting well and recovering faster than expected, experts have voiced fears that the decision to place all family members together could negatively affect their therapy.

"I have the impression that the doctors and therapists are reviving a family system that has proven to be damaging for Elisabeth Fritzl in the past," said Helene Klaar, a Vienna lawyer specialising in family law.

"It is difficult to understand why must Elisabeth Fritzl now live with her mother, the same woman who never helped her as she was abused by her father,” she added.

Fritzl, 73, had kept his daughter Elisabeth imprisoned in a purpose-built bunker beneath his house for 24 years, fathering seven children with her through decades of sexual abuse.

He selected three of the children to live upstairs with him and his wife Rosemarie, 68, while the other three remained incarcerated with their mother in the cellar dungeon.

One of the children, a baby boy called Michael, died shortly after birth and Fritzl burned his body in an incinerator.

The “upstairs family” – grandmother Rosemarie, and the children Lisa, 15, Monika, 14, and Alexander, 12 - has now been placed together with the “dungeon family” – Stefan, 18, Felix, five, and their mother Elisabeth - in a local psychiatric clinic.

The oldest child, Kerstin, 19, is being treated for a mysterious illness at a different hospital, where doctors keep her in artificially induced coma. The four children who lived in the cellar had never seen daylight prior to their release on April 26.

But the reunion has sparked criticism among experts.

Eva Mueckstein, the president of the Austrian Association of Psychotherapists, said: “Placing the family together can only be the very fist step, until the beginning of the process of dealing with the conflicts within the family.”

The children upstairs led a normal life, excelling at school and playing musical instruments. They are currently receiving private tuition at the hospital.

Their siblings who lived in the dungeon are said to be only starting to adapt to the outside world.

Dr Berthold Kepplinger, the head of the Amstetten-Mauer psychiatric hospital where the Fritzl family are being treated, said that due to the varied state they were in, each family member was receiving a different treatment.

He said: “The team of therapists is trying to adapt to the special needs of individual family members. But I would like to emphasise once more that the family will need a lot of time.”

Dr Kepplingerl also complained that the family was unable to walk freely because of the many journalists and have been “imprisoned for the second time” following their trauma in the cellar.

Since the case was revealed on April 27, the clinic has been besieged by journalists and TV crews who hope to get a glimpse of the Fritzl family.
Special police, fire-fighters, as well as a private security company are in charge of securing the hospital.

“The paparazzi dig holes in the ground, cover them with aluminium foil and then hide in them with their cameras, covered in army camouflage tents. But we were able to apprehend all of them so far," said hospital security chief Richard Riegler.

One paparazzo reportedly managed to climb to the third floor balcony next to the room where the family are being kept in the night between Thursday and Friday, but a screaming nurse alerted security officers who eventually apprehended the man after a short struggle. One of the security officers reportedly fell from the balcony and was severely injured.

According to the local newspaper Österreich, doctors are hiding the incest children in groups of other children in order for them to be able to come out in the open.

The newspaper also claimed that their mother Elisabeth is being disguised as a nurse so that she can have a walk.

The youngest child, Felix, is recovering better than the rest, has learnt how to drive a scooter and has also been taken to McDonalds by carers, Österreich claims.

Other reports have claimed that the police are investigating the possible involvement of Josef Fritzl in an unresolved murder of a Czech prostitute near the Austrian border.

Austrian police have so far confirmed that they are probing a possible link between Fritzl and two unresolved murders - of Anna Neumauer, 17, who was killed with two shots in the head and dumped in a corn field in Lower Austria; and that of Martina Posch, 17, whose naked body was found wrapped up in plastic bags on the shores of Lake Mond, in 1986, close to where Josef Fritzl used to own a bed & breakfast and camp site.

Both murders were believed to be sex-related. According to the German newspaper Bild, police are also trying to establish a possible connection between Fritzl and the murder of Gabriele Supekova, a 42-year-old prostitute whose body was found near the Austrian border in August 2007, where Fritzl is said to have spent time on holiday.

Story from Telegraph News:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news...y-experts.html

[Roo]

[nataliam1976]

I honestly think she should get some share of profit from her first interview ...she will need this money badly at some point, when the whole situation calms down and some time passes.

[AudreyII]

I think they should release photos of them, I know it seems gruesome and that they're not freaks who should be paraded around but the situation with the photographers who are out to make money for themselves is ridiculous, as said above, it is imprisoning them all over again.

I find it really weird that they are trying to unite the 2 families (I understand they'll need therapy and from the sounds of things protection) i've never believed that Rosemarie could not have known, not even had a suspicion of what was going on...

[nataliam1976]

Originally Posted by AudreyII

I think they should release photos of them, I know it seems gruesome and that they're not freaks who should be paraded around but the situation with the photographers who are out to make money for themselves is ridiculous, as said above, it is imprisoning them all over again. I find it really weird that they are trying to unite the 2 families (I understand they'll need therapy and from the sounds of things protection) i've never believed that Rosemarie could not have known, not even had a suspicion of what was going on...

I think the woman was so terrorized and victimized by her husband, that she didnt even dare thinking about doing something even if she knew or lied to herself.

My father was a violent alcoholic and once he tried to strangle me, when i was about 14. My mother knew about it and she still chose to stay. I know that it doesnt mean she didnt love me, but she was so bound and overpowered by him that she did nothing. i can see how it worked with Rosemarie.

[missisa07]

Gosh I feel so sorry for the victims of this whole ordeal. Honestly that man is going to spend the rest of eternity in the deepest, darkest corner of hell.

[AudreyII]

^^God, that's awful nataliam, i'm sorry you had to go through that.
I think in this case we have to hope that the authorities know what they're doing and that they can all be a family again.
If Elisabeth had a suspicion that Rosemarie was complicit then it sounds like she would now speak up, it could be argued either way but if Elisabeth is accepting of Rosemarie (and the Police accept that she didn't know) then I guess it ends there.

[nataliam1976]

Originally Posted by AudreyII

^^God, that's awful nataliam, i'm sorry you had to go through that. I think in this case we have to hope that the authorities know what they're doing and that they can all be a family again. If Elisabeth had a suspicion that Rosemarie was complicit then it sounds like she would now speak up, it could be argued either way but if Elisabeth is accepting of Rosemarie (and the Police accept that she didn't know) then I guess it ends there.

thanks ok, hun, thanks I wonder what the law says about it, presuming they could prove Rosemarie did know about it and didnt speak up, does it make her an accomplice in a certain way ? Im sure Elizabeth wouldnt want her mother to be prosecuted.

[AudreyII]

I haven't the first clue about Austrian Law but i'm sure that if they could prove she knew and helped to cover it up then she could be charged as an accomplice, don't know about just knowing but never telling anyone she knew. It all depends on Elisabeth and her feelings now towards Rosemarie, some people might not be able to forgive whether they thought she (Rosemarie) knew or not.

[nataliam1976]

Originally Posted by AudreyII

I haven't the first clue about Austrian Law but i'm sure that if they could prove she knew and helped to cover it up then she could be charged as an accomplice, don't know about just knowing but never telling anyone she knew. It all depends on Elisabeth and her feelings now towards Rosemarie, some people might not be able to forgive whether they thought she (Rosemarie) knew or not.

We need Austrians to chime in ! lets face it, if she was an accomplice, it wont matter how Elizabeth feels, law is law, but then again if she was forced and threatened to be silent, then she isnt really an accomplice, just another victim? I wanted to write that no mother would want such a fate for her child, but after this case I guess I will never make assumptions again...

[maddog]

I can believe Rosemarie did not know. At best, she may have an idea that he had a mistress. It's not uncommon for women in some countries to know that and pretend to not know.

We need to keep in mind she's not a modern American woman and her mentality is not the same as ours. If he said not to go down to the basement to bug him while he's working, it would have never crossed her mind to look. Even if she sneaked down to see his "workshop", the door's hidden behind a bookshelf and who except in scary movies would think to look for secret doorways without knowing one exists?

He could also have moved beds and big items into the basement without anyone noticing by waiting until she's out of the house.

In any case, those photographers should be ashamed of themselves! How do these people sleep at night? I feel bad for the upstairs children. Their lives turned upside down. I mean I feel bad for the cellar children too, but at least what they experience now is more freedom to them.