Fritzl case

The Fritzl case emerged in 2008 when a woman named Elisabeth Fritzl (born 6 April 1966) informed investigators in the city of Amstetten, Lower Austria, that she had been held captive for 24 years by her father, Josef Fritzl (born 9 April 1935). Fritzl had assaulted, sexually abused, and raped his daughter countless times during her imprisonment inside a concealed area in the cellar of the family home. The incestuous rapes resulted in the birth of seven children. Three children remained in captivity with their mother, one died shortly after birth and was cremated by Fritzl, and the other three were brought up in the family home upstairs by Fritzl and his wife Rosemarie, after Fritzl convinced her and the authorities that they were foundlings each time. Fritzl was arrested by Austrian police on counts of rape, false imprisonment, murder by negligence, and incest, one week after Elisabeth's eldest daughter, Kerstin, fell ill in the cellar and was taken to the hospital by Fritzl himself. In March 2009, Fritzl pleaded guilty to all counts and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Infobox

Location

Amstetten, Lower Austria

Date

28 August 1984– 26 April 2008 at 2:36 a .

Attack type

Kidnapping, rape, child abuse, torture, slavery, child murder, filicide, infanticide

Weapons

Various

Deaths

Victims

Elisabeth Fritzl and her children

Perpetrator

Josef Fritzl (later Josef Mayrhoff)

Motive

Sexual obsession and desire to control Elisabeth Fritzl

Verdict

Pleaded guilty

Convictions

Murder by negligence Enslavement Rape Deprivation of liberty Coercion Incest

Sentence

Life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 15 years

Tables

· Key events

1977

Date

1977

Key event

Fritzl begins sexually abusing his 11-year-old daughter Elisabeth.

1980

Date

1980

Key event

Fritzl's mother, Maria, dies in captivity in Fritzl's attic.

1981–1982

Date

1981–1982

Key event

Fritzl begins to turn the hidden cellar into a prison chamber.

28 August 1984

Date

28 August 1984

Key event

Fritzl lures 18-year-old Elisabeth into the basement and imprisons her.

November 1986

Date

November 1986

Key event

Elisabeth has a miscarriage in the tenth week of pregnancy.

30 August 1988

Date

30 August 1988

Key event

Kerstin is born, and lives in the cellar until the age of 19 in 2008.

1 February 1990

Date

1 February 1990

Key event

Stefan is born. He also stays in the cellar until 2008, aged 18.

29 August 1992

Date

29 August 1992

Key event

Lisa is born. In May 1993, at nine months of age, she is discovered outside the family home in a cardboard box, allegedly left there by Elisabeth with a note asking for the child to be looked after.

1993

Date

1993

Key event

After repeated requests by Elisabeth, Fritzl allows the enlargement of the prison, putting Elisabeth and her children to work for years digging out soil with their hands. The prison was enlarged from 35 to 55 m2 (380 to 590 sq ft).

26 February 1994

Date

26 February 1994

Key event

The fourth child, Monika, is born.

December 1994

Date

December 1994

Key event

Monika, at ten months of age, is found in a pushchair (stroller) outside the entrance of the house. Shortly afterwards, Fritzl's wife Rosemarie receives a phone call, asking her to take care of the child. The caller sounds like Elisabeth, but it is assumed that Fritzl used a recording of her voice. Rosemarie reported the incident to the police, expressing astonishment that Elisabeth knew their new, ex-directory phone number.

28 April 1996

Date

28 April 1996

Key event

Elisabeth gives birth to twin boys, Michael and Alexander. The first one dies after less than three days and Fritzl removes and cremates the body. The surviving twin, Alexander, is taken upstairs at fifteen months old and "discovered" in circumstances similar to those of his two sisters.

16 December 2002

Date

16 December 2002

Key event

Felix is born. According to a statement by Fritzl, he kept Felix in the cellar with Elisabeth and her two eldest children because his wife could not look after another child.

19 April 2008

Date

19 April 2008

Key event

Fritzl arranges for critically ill 19-year-old Kerstin to be taken to a local hospital.

26 April 2008

Date

26 April 2008

Key event

During the evening, Fritzl releases Elisabeth, Stefan, and Felix from the cellar and brings them upstairs, informing his wife that Elisabeth had decided to come home after a 24-year absence. Later that evening, after an anonymous tipoff during a visit to the hospital, Fritzl and Elisabeth are taken into police custody where she reveals her decades-long imprisonment during questioning.

19 March 2009

Date

19 March 2009

Key event

After a four-day trial, Fritzl pleads guilty to the charges of the murder by negligence of his infant son (and grandson) Michael, as well as the decades of enslavement, incest, rape, coercion and false imprisonment of his daughter Elisabeth, and is sentenced to life imprisonment.

Date	Key event
1977	Fritzl begins sexually abusing his 11-year-old daughter Elisabeth.
1980	Fritzl's mother, Maria, dies in captivity in Fritzl's attic.
1981–1982	Fritzl begins to turn the hidden cellar into a prison chamber.
28 August 1984	Fritzl lures 18-year-old Elisabeth into the basement and imprisons her.
November 1986	Elisabeth has a miscarriage in the tenth week of pregnancy.
30 August 1988	Kerstin is born, and lives in the cellar until the age of 19 in 2008.
1 February 1990	Stefan is born. He also stays in the cellar until 2008, aged 18.
29 August 1992	Lisa is born. In May 1993, at nine months of age, she is discovered outside the family home in a cardboard box, allegedly left there by Elisabeth with a note asking for the child to be looked after.
1993	After repeated requests by Elisabeth, Fritzl allows the enlargement of the prison, putting Elisabeth and her children to work for years digging out soil with their hands. The prison was enlarged from 35 to 55 m2 (380 to 590 sq ft).
26 February 1994	The fourth child, Monika, is born.
December 1994	Monika, at ten months of age, is found in a pushchair (stroller) outside the entrance of the house. Shortly afterwards, Fritzl's wife Rosemarie receives a phone call, asking her to take care of the child. The caller sounds like Elisabeth, but it is assumed that Fritzl used a recording of her voice. Rosemarie reported the incident to the police, expressing astonishment that Elisabeth knew their new, ex-directory phone number.
28 April 1996	Elisabeth gives birth to twin boys, Michael and Alexander. The first one dies after less than three days and Fritzl removes and cremates the body. The surviving twin, Alexander, is taken upstairs at fifteen months old and "discovered" in circumstances similar to those of his two sisters.
16 December 2002	Felix is born. According to a statement by Fritzl, he kept Felix in the cellar with Elisabeth and her two eldest children because his wife could not look after another child.
19 April 2008	Fritzl arranges for critically ill 19-year-old Kerstin to be taken to a local hospital.
26 April 2008	During the evening, Fritzl releases Elisabeth, Stefan, and Felix from the cellar and brings them upstairs, informing his wife that Elisabeth had decided to come home after a 24-year absence. Later that evening, after an anonymous tipoff during a visit to the hospital, Fritzl and Elisabeth are taken into police custody where she reveals her decades-long imprisonment during questioning.
19 March 2009	After a four-day trial, Fritzl pleads guilty to the charges of the murder by negligence of his infant son (and grandson) Michael, as well as the decades of enslavement, incest, rape, coercion and false imprisonment of his daughter Elisabeth, and is sentenced to life imprisonment.