Man 'imprisoned daughter in cellar for 24 yrs'
Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 1:18 am
Austrian police are searching the cellar of a man believed to have held his daughter captive for 24 years.
Police said the woman, identified as 42-year-old Elisabeth F, told them her father kept her in a windowless basement, abused her and fathered seven children with her.
She said he had lured her into the basement of the block where the family lived in Amstetten in 1984, and drugged and handcuffed her before locking her up.
Three of her children had been kept locked up with their mother since birth and had never seen sunlight or received any education, police said.
Police said Josef, a 73-year-old electrical engineering technician by training, was in custody and had told investigators how to enter the basement prison through a small hidden door, operated by a secret code which only he had known.
Josef's wife Rosemarie had been unaware of what happened to her daughter and it was assumed Elisabeth had disappeared voluntarily when her parents received a letter from her a month after her saying they should not search for her.
Authorities are still trying to piece together details of the case, which is reminiscent of that of Austrian Natascha Kampusch who spent eight years locked up in a windowless cell before dashing to freedom in August 2006.
Elisabeth gave birth to seven children during her ordeal, one of whom died shortly after being born, police said.
Three of the younger children were brought up by Josef and his wife after they were left at the building, the first child accompanied by a note from Elisabeth saying she was unable to care for the baby herself.
Three others, including the two eldest aged 18 and 19, and the youngest, aged 5, had been locked up in the basement with their mother since birth.
Franz Polzer, head of the criminal investigations unit in the province of Lower Austria said: 'There is not only one, but a number of rooms: one room to sleep in, one to cook, and there are also sanitation facilities.
'The father seems to be very authoritarian and decided what happened and what was supposed to happen in the family - and today we know why he very closely guarded the basement,' Mr Polzer said.
The case only came to light when the oldest child, a 19-year-old girl, became seriously ill and was dropped off at the hospital in Amstetten.
Doctors appealed for the girl's mother, who at that time was believed to have disappeared, to come forward to provide more details about the daughter's medical history.
Josef then brought Elisabeth and her remaining two children out of the dungeon, telling his wife that their 'missing' daughter had chosen to return home, police said.
Elisabeth agreed to make a 'comprehensive statement' to police, after assurances that she would have no further contact with her father, who she said abused her from the age of 11.
The woman, her children and her mother are receiving psychological counselling, and police said DNA samples of all those involved were taken for analysis.
When I read these kind of stories it upsets me to think of how many other people are out there suffering in this way or indeed in other ways. It really gets to me and makes me realise that what I moan about daily is trivial and I have a bloody good life and should never forget it.
Police said the woman, identified as 42-year-old Elisabeth F, told them her father kept her in a windowless basement, abused her and fathered seven children with her.
She said he had lured her into the basement of the block where the family lived in Amstetten in 1984, and drugged and handcuffed her before locking her up.
Three of her children had been kept locked up with their mother since birth and had never seen sunlight or received any education, police said.
Police said Josef, a 73-year-old electrical engineering technician by training, was in custody and had told investigators how to enter the basement prison through a small hidden door, operated by a secret code which only he had known.
Josef's wife Rosemarie had been unaware of what happened to her daughter and it was assumed Elisabeth had disappeared voluntarily when her parents received a letter from her a month after her saying they should not search for her.
Authorities are still trying to piece together details of the case, which is reminiscent of that of Austrian Natascha Kampusch who spent eight years locked up in a windowless cell before dashing to freedom in August 2006.
Elisabeth gave birth to seven children during her ordeal, one of whom died shortly after being born, police said.
Three of the younger children were brought up by Josef and his wife after they were left at the building, the first child accompanied by a note from Elisabeth saying she was unable to care for the baby herself.
Three others, including the two eldest aged 18 and 19, and the youngest, aged 5, had been locked up in the basement with their mother since birth.
Franz Polzer, head of the criminal investigations unit in the province of Lower Austria said: 'There is not only one, but a number of rooms: one room to sleep in, one to cook, and there are also sanitation facilities.
'The father seems to be very authoritarian and decided what happened and what was supposed to happen in the family - and today we know why he very closely guarded the basement,' Mr Polzer said.
The case only came to light when the oldest child, a 19-year-old girl, became seriously ill and was dropped off at the hospital in Amstetten.
Doctors appealed for the girl's mother, who at that time was believed to have disappeared, to come forward to provide more details about the daughter's medical history.
Josef then brought Elisabeth and her remaining two children out of the dungeon, telling his wife that their 'missing' daughter had chosen to return home, police said.
Elisabeth agreed to make a 'comprehensive statement' to police, after assurances that she would have no further contact with her father, who she said abused her from the age of 11.
The woman, her children and her mother are receiving psychological counselling, and police said DNA samples of all those involved were taken for analysis.
When I read these kind of stories it upsets me to think of how many other people are out there suffering in this way or indeed in other ways. It really gets to me and makes me realise that what I moan about daily is trivial and I have a bloody good life and should never forget it.
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