Posted in7. June 2022, hours. 7:00 p.m.
He kept his daughter captive for years and fathered children with her. The Higher Regional Court of Vienna rejected Fritzl’s request to be transferred to a “normal” prison.
1/3
Josef Fritzl went down in Austrian criminal history as the “Amstetten monster”. He kept his daughter in the basement for 24 years and during that time he fathered seven children with her.
Press imago / ZUMA
Josef Fritzl and his wife Rosmarie lived in this house. It shouldn’t have known about a horrible crime.
imago / SKATA
The dungeon where Josef Fritzl’s daughter was kept.
Press imago / ZUMA
The Amstetten incest perpetrators, who were sentenced to life imprisonment in 2009, cannot be transferred to a regular prison in Austria. Vienna’s higher district court ruled that the placement of 87-year-old Josef Fritzl in an asylum for the mentally ill but responsible criminals is still necessary, judicial authorities said on Tuesday.
Hiding behind a new name
The perpetrator, known as Josef Fritzl, was convicted, inter alia for murder, rape and slave possession. The man fought for a new name and his name is no longer Josef Fritzl but Mayrhoff as a surname.
He held his daughter captive for 24 years in his own cellar under his home in Amstetten, Lower Austria. He fathered seven children with her. The son died shortly after birth due to illness. Fritzl explained to his wife and neighbors that his daughter had joined a sect. His double life was revealed in 2008.
Experts doubt the success of the therapy
The Court of Appeal argued that there was still a serious, incurable disease. The prosecutor’s office was right and appealed against the end of the arrest. If Fritzl were transferred to a normal prison, he could be released completely next year. According to Austrian law, probationary release from life imprisonment is possible after 15 years. Even with such a step, however, the prosecutor would be involved.
Are you or Has someone you know suffered a trauma?
(AFP / pcs.)