The Fritzl case came to light in 2008 when a woman, Elisabeth Fritzl, told police that she had been held captive in a hidden basement beneath their family home for 24 years by her father, Josef Fritzl.
During this time, he had assaulted, sexually abused, and raped her a thousand times during her imprisonment and fathered seven of her children.
He was arrested on charges of incest, rape, false imprisonment, and manslaughter by negligence.
He was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment in March 2009. Let’s discuss the whole story and uncover all the details.
What Happened to Elizabeth Fritzl In the Basement?
On August 28, 1984, just after Elisabeth’s 18th birthday, her father, Josef, tricked her into going to their basement. He said he needed help with a heavy door.
He had been secretly building a hidden room under their house that was a dark, locked prison. As she held the door open, her father put a cloth over her face, making her sleepy.
Before she knew it, he shoved her inside, slamming the door shut and trapping her in the basement. After she disappeared, her family reported her missing.
A month later, her father held a letter to the police, saying she’d run away. But it was not reality. Her father, Fritzl, had trapped her in a hidden room in their basement.
For 24 long years, her father went to the basement every day, bringing food and other supplies, repeatedly raped her, and fathered seven children with her. One child died shortly after birth.
Three of them remained in captivity with their mother, Elisabeth Fritzl (Kerstin, Stefan, Felix), and the other three (Lisa, Monika, Alexander) were carried by Fritzl and his wife, Rosemarie, having been reported as foundlings.
How Was Josef Fritzl Caught?
On April 19, 2008, Kerstin, Elisabeth’s eldest daughter, needed medical help. She cleverly sent a message for help, and the truth came out.
Josef was caught on April 26, and Elisabeth and her children were finally free. The doctors treating Kerstin found Fritzl’s story strange and contacted the police.
They also asked the public for help finding Kerstin’s mother, Elisabeth, so that they could learn more about Kerstin’s medical history.
The police looked again at the case file about Elisabeth’s disappearance. But Fritzl kept up his fake story about her being in a cult and even showed them a letter he claimed she had written recently.
But the police weren’t convinced. The letter seemed forced and unnatural, and an expert on cults didn’t believe the group Fritzl described existed.
Elisabeth couldn’t bear to see her daughter suffer any longer. She begged Fritzl to take her to the hospital.
Finally, on April 26, 2008, he brought her and their two sons, Stefan and Felix, upstairs and went them to the hospital where her daughter, Kristan, was being treated.
A doctor recognized something was wrong and alerted the police. Then, the police quickly found Fritzl and Elisabeth and took them to the police station for questioning.
She didn’t tell the police anything else until they told her she would never have to see her dad again.
Over the next two hours, She told the story of her 24 years in captivity. She said that her father, Fritzl, raped her and forced her to watch sexual videos, which made her re-enact with him in front of her children to humiliate her.
Just after midnight, the police ended their investigation. On April 26, Fritzl, aged 73, was arrested on suspicion of severe crimes against family members. On April 27, Elisabeth, her children, and her mother, Rosemarie, were taken into care.
Who is Josef Fritzl?
Josef Fritzl, now named Mayrhoff, was born on April 9, 1935, in Amstetten to Josef Fritzl Sr. and Maria Fritzl.
Growing up, he was an only child raised solely by his working mother, as his father was a severe alcoholic who deserted the family when Fritzl was only four years old and never returned. His father served in the Wehrmacht during WWII and died in combat in 1944.
In 1956, at 21, Josef Fritzl married Rosemarie, who was 17 then. They had three sons and four daughters, including Elisabeth, born on April 6, 1966. He reportedly began sexually abusing his daughter, Elisabeth, in 1977 when she was only 11.
Moreover, Fritzl was an electrical engineering graduate from HTL Technical College. He worked at Voestalpine in Linz and later became a technical equipment salesman, traveling throughout Austria.
In 1995, he retired from active employment but continued some commercial activities. He owned an apartment building in Amstetten and rented out several other properties.
He bought a guesthouse and a campsite at Lake Mondsee in 1972, which he ran with his wife until 1996.
Where is Josef Fritzl Now?
Josef Fritzl, who changed his name to Mayrhoff, was locked up in 2009 after he admitted to abusing his daughter, fathering seven children with her, and keeping her captive in an underground dungeon for 24 years.
The convict was allegedly spotted outside the jail enjoying coffee in several local cafes. Moreover, An earlier decision from 2022 was overturned when his request to be moved to a normal cell was rejected.
After 15 years, A court in Austria ruled on Thursday, 2024, that 88-year-old Fritzl, who has dementia, can be moved from psychiatric detention to a normal cell, paving the way for his permanent release.
