Josef Fritzl, the "dungeon keeper", admits all charges

[Tiriol]

I don't know if this news article should belong to Off-Topic or News & Politics, since strictly speaking it is a human interest story; however, since it also has some news relevance and the original articles concerning Fritzl and his heinous acts of imprisoning his own daughter and their mutual children in a dungeon in the basement were posted in N&P, I took the liberty of posting this news item here, as well.

The source is kindly provided by BBC.

Josef Fritzl admits all charges

Josef Fritzl, the Austrian accused of imprisoning his daughter and fathering seven children with her, has changed his pleas to guilty on all charges.

Fritzl said video testimony from his daughter, played in court on Tuesday, made him change his mind.

Josef Fritzl locked up his daughter for 24 years. The charges include rape, incest, murder and enslavement.

A court doctor has recommended that the 73-year-old be sent to a psychiatric facility for treatment.

At the start of his trial on Monday, Fritzl denied the charges of enslavement and murdering one of the children soon after its birth.

His surprise turnabout also altered his plea from "partial" to guilty on the charge of rape.

Fritzl's lawyer said watching his daughter's testimony had profoundly affected him, "destroying" his emotions.

Proceedings have ended for the day. A verdict and sentencing is expected on Thursday.

'Sorry'

Wearing a grey suit and a blue shirt, Fritzl did not hide his face on Wednesday, as he had done for the past two days, when he was led into the courtroom in St Poelten, west of Vienna.

As proceedings began, the judge asked Fritzl how he felt after watching the videotaped testimony of his daughter.

FRITZL'S CRIMES
Murder
Enslavement
Deprivation of liberty
Rape
Incest
Coercion

In a low voice he said: "I plead guilty."

"Your daughter told you the baby was suffering from breathing problems," the judge said. "You had time to get first aid."

Fritzl said: "I was hoping the little one would survive but I should have done something. I don't know why I didn't help. I just lost sight [of the issue]."

He then said he was "sorry".

Speaking later outside court, Fritzl's lawyer Rudolf Mayer said his daughter's testimony had allowed him to see for the first time the impact of his actions.

Describing his client, Mr Mayer said Fritzl was "a person who had only one idea - 'I must always be full of power'".

Mr Mayer said he was "very, very surprised" by Fritzl's plea reversal, but that Fritzl hoped his change of plea would help his victims.

The court later heard psychiatrist Dr Adelheid Kastner say there was a danger Fritzl would repeat his behaviour if he was left untreated.

She recommended that he be sent to a psychiatric facility.

She said Fritzl had an overwhelming need to dominate and control, which she said stemmed from his childhood.

She said he was an unwanted, unloved child, intelligent, who had grown up determined to have somebody who belonged to him alone.

He was emotionally deficient but that he knew what he was doing was wrong, she added.

Soundproofed chamber

The court viewed the testimony from Fritzl's daughter on Tuesday.

Austrian media reports said his daughter Elisabeth was in a private viewing chamber in the courthouse at the time. However, officials refused to confirm this, saying only that a number of unnamed people had been there.

Fritzl lured his 18-year-old daughter into a cellar with windowless, soundproofed chambers beneath their house in Amstetten in 1984.

He imprisoned her there and raped her repeatedly over a number of years.

The daughter and three of the children fathered by Fritzl were kept captive in the cellar until the case came to light in April last year, when one of the children became seriously ill and was taken to hospital.

He was accused of murdering one of newborn twin boys his daughter gave birth to in 1996, having failed to arrange medical care for the ailing infant.

So, the villain of this story will face justice, one way or another, after years of reprehensible actions. It appears that all what remains is to decide whether to send this man to a psychiatric hospital for the rest of his life (which shouldn't be that long, considering his advanced age) or to a prison.

[The Romulan Republic]

Good to know he'll be going away, presumably for the rest of his life. I wonder if he'll die a natural death, though. Somehow I doubt if if he's tossed in with the general populace. I wonder if that will factor into weather he goes to a hospital or a prison?

[[R_H]]

Yesterday his lawyer said Fritzl wasn't a "sex monster". What kind of a person willingly defends a sick bastard like Fritzl?

[Tiriol]

Yesterday his lawyer said Fritzl wasn't a "sex monster". What kind of a person willingly defends a sick bastard like Fritzl?

Hopefully someone who actually believes in justice and recognizes that even the worst kind of criminals deserve someone to legally defend them in a court of law; in theory nobody is guilty of anything until such thing can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Those proceedings would become much more of a kangaroo court if there wouldn't be anyone defending the accused.

However, the lawyer defendinf Fritzl does/did have his work cut out for him. I wonder if Fritzl's confession might actually be a relief for him.

[[R_H]]

Hopefully someone who actually believes in justice and recognizes that even the worst kind of criminals deserve someone to legally defend them in a court of law; in theory nobody is guilty of anything until such thing can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Those proceedings would become much more of a kangaroo court if there wouldn't be anyone defending the accused.

However, the lawyer defendinf Fritzl does/did have his work cut out for him. I wonder if Fritzl's confession might actually be a relief for him.

His lawyer seems to be bewildered by his confession, yesterday he (Fritzl) pleaded not guilty to murder and slavery (not sure if it was slavery), but today he changed his plea to guilty on all counts, without discussing with his lawyer.

[Tiriol]

Hopefully someone who actually believes in justice and recognizes that even the worst kind of criminals deserve someone to legally defend them in a court of law; in theory nobody is guilty of anything until such thing can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Those proceedings would become much more of a kangaroo court if there wouldn't be anyone defending the accused.

However, the lawyer defendinf Fritzl does/did have his work cut out for him. I wonder if Fritzl's confession might actually be a relief for him.

His lawyer seems to be bewildered by his confession, yesterday he (Fritzl) pleaded not guilty to murder and slavery (not sure if it was slavery), but today he changed his plea to guilty on all counts, without discussing with his lawyer.

According to the article, the official charge was enslavement; however, slavery is close enough.

I wonder whether this is a genuine feeling of remorse on the behalf of Fritzl or some strange, last effort ditch to avoid the inevitable and get a lighter sentence; I'm quite sure that the lawyer would like to know it, as well.

[Crown]

I wonder whether this is a genuine feeling of remorse on the behalf of Fritzl or some strange, last effort ditch to avoid the inevitable and get a lighter sentence; I'm quite sure that the lawyer would like to know it, as well.

Realistically there is no such thing as a 'lighter sentence' for a guy who is aged 73. It's gonna be life behind bars for him even if he could have fought off the murder charge.

[Patrick Degan]

Life in solitary confinement would be a fitting sentence.

[Tiriol]

An update: Josef Fritzl receives a life sentence.

Austrian Fritzl sentenced to life

Austrian Josef Fritzl, who kept his daughter in a cellar and fathered her seven children, has been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Fritzl, 73, was found guilty of all charges against him, including rape, incest, murder and enslavement.

He showed no obvious emotion at the verdict, telling the court that he accepted it and would not appeal.

The court ordered that Fritzl should serve his life sentence in a secure psychiatric facility.

The judge said he could speak to his lawyer but he shook his head. Then he was led out of court with an impassive face.

Fritzl's lawyer, Rudolf Mayer, said outside the court after the verdict: "I would say that the verdict was a logical consequence of a confession.

"Of course if you have 3,000 cases of rape and 24 years of being kept in a cellar, it is evident that there can only be a punishment or verdict like this one."

The life sentence was handed down for the murder by neglect of one of the children, who died soon after birth.

The jury unanimously accepted prosecutors' arguments that the child could have survived if it had received medical care denied by Fritzl.

The defendant first denied murder and enslavement but changed his plea to guilty after seeing testimony from his daughter.

The verdict is final and irreversible, as neither the defence nor the prosecution is contesting it.

Co-ordination centre

The BBC's Bethany Bell at the court says there has been a huge amount of media interest in the trial, and its twists and turns have been enormous.

At the time of the first details of this case, no-one could grasp the extent of this man's crimes, she says, and Austria still has to come to terms with it.

Court officials said Fritzl would initially return to St Poelten jail, where he has been held in custody. Justice Ministry spokeswoman Katharina Swoboda told AFP news agency that he would remain there in the coming weeks.

The prison's deputy warden, Erich Huber-Guensthofer, said he would be kept under suicide watch.

He will then be sent to a co-ordination centre, where it will be determined how dangerous he is and whether he is able to undergo therapy, before going on to the psychiatric facility.

He could in theory be released from the facility if he is deemed to be cured of his illness and would serve the remainder of his sentence in a normal prison.

In this case he will be eligible for release after 15 years.

Court spokesman Franz Cutka said Fritzl's daughter could also bring a civil case against her father, adding that there was no limit to the damages she could request.

Regrets

The Austrian imprisoned his daughter in a cellar under his house for 24 years and repeatedly raped her.

The daughter and three of the children were kept captive in the cellar until the case came to light in April last year, when one of them became seriously ill and was taken to hospital.

In his surprise confession on Wednesday, Fritzl admitted murdering by neglect one of newborn twin boys his daughter gave birth to in 1996, having failed to arrange medical care for the ailing infant.

The other three children were raised in the family home by Fritzl and his wife, after he told people that his daughter had abandoned them and joined a sect.

The daughter and her six surviving children been recovering from their ordeal in a psychiatric clinic and at a secret location.

Addressing the jury before the verdict, Fritzl said: "I regret from the bottom of my heart what I've done to my family."

"Unfortunately I cannot undo what I did. I can only try to limit the damage done as best as I can," he said.

If the man is truly sorry for what he has done, he won't appeal on his sentence; however, even if he is in a quick order deemed fit to a normal prison, he will still spend 15 years there at minimum. It is indeed a life sentence for a man in his seventies.

What was that Roman saying... "Let justice be done, even though the heavens may fall." Not entirely fitting in this case, but close enough.

[Solauren]

I personally think his sentencing should be how all cases where there is a question of sanity/required therapy should be handled.

Stick him in the mental-care facility until he's cured, then stick him in jail for the remainder of the sentence.
And if they are cured after the sentence has run it's course, well, sucks to be them.
I'd also add a condition of +1 year after being deemed cure if in the mental health facility post sentence complition just to prevent relapses.

As for the 'being' in question, good riddance to bad rubbish.

I hope his daughter and their offspring can eventually have something resembling a normal life.

[Broomstick]

Yesterday his lawyer said Fritzl wasn't a "sex monster". What kind of a person willingly defends a sick bastard like Fritzl?

Even "sick monsters" are entitled to a defense lawyer (at least in this country. I presume in others, too). Even where the defendant is pleading guilty to all charges the defense lawyer is still there to get his/her client the best "deal". That might mean arguing for treatment while confined, or for being set apart from the general population for the criminal's safety. Defense lawyers do not have to like their clients, they may well think they are disgusting and horrible as the rest of us do, but someone has to take on that task, just as someone has to drive the garbage trucks or clean the sewer.

[Rogue 9]

What was that Roman saying... "Let justice be done, even though the heavens may fall." Not entirely fitting in this case, but close enough.

Fiat justitia ruat caelum is what you're looking for. The sky is in no danger of falling from enacting justice upon this man, though even if it were, justice demands no less. May he rot for what he has done.

[Omeros]

It now appears Fritzl may have committed more crimes than those admitted to by him so far...

From the Telegraph

Josef Fritzl is to be questioned over a string of unsolved murders as police try to uncover the full extent of his evil crimes.

Fritzl, 73, is now a suspect in at least four murders and missing persons cases stretching back more than four decades. Three of the victims were teenage girls.

The most striking case is that of Martina Posch, who was 17 when she was raped and strangled on the shores of the Mondsee lake in November 1986.

She bore an obvious resemblance to Elisabeth, was a similar age, and her naked body was dragged from the water a short distance from a guest house which Fritzl and his wife Rosemarie owned and ran at the time.

Alois Lissl, the police chief of the Mondsee area, said: "What really stands out is that Martina looks similar to Fritzl's daughter. The likeness is incredible."

Police have searched Fritzl's home in Amstetten for any of Miss Posch's clothes or possessions, without success, but he remains a strong suspect.

Fritzl's earliest possible murder victim is Anna Neumayer, 17, who was murdered with a bolt gun in August 1966. She had disappeared on her way to Wels, less than 20 miles from where Fritzl was working at the time, before her body was discovered in a field.

Police are also looking into possible links with the disappearance of Julia Kuehrer, 16, who was last seen in June 2006 in Pulkau, 60 miles from Fritzl's home.

His most recent potential victim is Gabriele Superkova, 20, a prostitute who was murdered in August 2007. Her body was found at the Moldaustausee lake near the Austrian-Czech border at a time when Fritzl was on holiday there.

Detectives now have no doubt that Fritzl was a habitual sex offender for more than 30 years before he turned his attentions to his daughter.

He was convicted of rape in 1967 but spent less than a year in jail after being sentenced to just 18 months.

Incredibly, his conviction was wiped from official records 15 years later, enabling him to avoid suspicion when his daughter Elisabeth went missing in 1984.

He had imprisoned her in the purpose-built dungeon beneath his home where she would spend the next 24 years as his sex slave, but police swallowed Fritzl's cover story about her running away to join a cult because they were unaware of his sex offence.

It also meant that he was able to legally adopt three of the children he fathered by Elisabeth, who he claimed to have found dumped on his doorstep, because social services had no idea he was a rapist.

Since Fritzl's arrest in April 2008 following the release of his "cellar family", other women have come forward to say they were attacked by him.

They include Marie Neubauer, who says Fritzl pounced on her as she was trying to open her front door in Linz in the autumn of 1983, and tried to rape her on the lawn before her husband heard her screams and frightened him off.

Mrs Neubauer, now aged 65, says she never forgot the fiend's "wolf's eyes" and knew instantly that Fritzl was the man who attacked her when she saw his face on television following his arrest last April.

She has said she is haunted by the thought that she could have stopped him before he imprisoned Elisabeth a year later, if only she had held onto him so her husband could have grabbed him.

At least one other woman has come forward to say she was raped by Fritzl. She said she had been "too embarrassed" to report the rape to police at the time of the attack in Linz in 1967, one month before the rape for which he was jailed.

Before he turned to rape, Fritzl already had a conviction for indecent exposure, and police believe it is inconceivable that he could have attacked women in the 1960s and 1980s without claiming any other victims in the intervening years.

Fritzl frequently travelled both within Austria and abroad whilst working as an engineer for several companies, spending long periods in India and Luxembourg. He was also a regular sex tourist to Thailand, raising the possibility of other victims scattered around the world.

Although Fritzl will be asked to admit to any other rapes and murders he has committed, without a full confession it seems likely that the true extent of his abominable crimes will never be known.

[KrauserKrauser]

That is well and truly fucked up.

This definitely makes me want to look into the statutes in my state with respect to what crimes can get removed from records after how long. Does anyone know if this is still the standard procedure, especially for sexually violent crimes?