Was Austrian Cellar Father Responsible For His Actions?

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Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry
Also Included In: Mental Health;  Public Health
Article Date: 30 Apr 2008 - 6:00 PDT

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Was Josef Fritzl, who kept his daughter (Elizabeth) in a cellar for 24 years and has confessed to fathering seven children with her, responsible for his actions? That is what his lawyer, Rudolf Mayer, said experts must decide.

He faces up to 15 years in prison just for rape - if he is found guilty of rape.

In an interview with the BBC Mayer said Fritzl will undergo several psychological and psychiatric tests.

Of the seven children he fathered, six are still alive. Fritzl might be convicted of 'murder through failure to act' regarding the child who died. He says he burnt the body of the newborn in an incinerator soon after birth.

The results of the psychiatric tests will influence how guilty he is deemed to be, and consequently, how long his prison sentence will be. Mayer said to the BBC "We'd need to see if there's evidence of any psychiatric disorder - which wouldn't necessarily mean mental incapacity but would still be very important when assessing the guilt of the suspect. And the extent of the guilt determines the extent of the penalty."

Authorities in the Austrian town of Amstetten, 75 miles west of Vienna, have said they may change the names of members of Fritzl's immediate family so that they may acquire new identities. On Tuesday night hundreds of people stood in the rain and lit candles in a show of solidarity to Fritzl's family and outrage at what happened.

There was an emotional reunion with two of the three children and their mother Elizabeth, 42. Three children lived with Elizabeth in the cellar. The oldest became ill and is currently in a coma in hospital. It seems the other three children lived in the upper part of the house and were known as Fritzl's grandchildren.

Rosemarie, Mr. Fritzl's wife, knew nothing about what had happened over the 24 years. Fritzl told her that Elizabeth had run away from home to join a cult. He even forced his daughter to write a letter which he showed to his wife - the letter explained that she was running away because she could not look after her three children. Fritzl and his wife adopted them. Rosemarie and Elizabeth met at the hospital this week.

According to local police, Fritzl had completely deceived his wife. There is no evidence to indicate that anybody knew what was going on.

Josef Fritzl, aged 73, led a double life. People in the Amstetten considered Josef and Rosemarie as respectable members of the community. However, DNA tests have confirmed he had fathered many children with his daughter. According to the local police, he lured his 18-year-old daughter into a cellar in 1984, and abused her over and over again.

Fritzl is a qualified electrician and, according to the police, a very intelligent man. The cellar room doors were fitted with locks that only he, with a special code, could open. There was a sliding reinforced concrete door which only he knew how to open and close.

Neighbors and locals said Fritzl appeared to be a good and loving 'grandfather'. All of them have expressed total shock at what he had done.

In order to keep suspicion away from him, Fritzl bought supplies for his hidden family in towns surrounding Amstetten - never in the town itself.

Summary (according to information gathered from various media sources*)

-- 1984, Elizabeth 18, lured into cellar and locked in there for 24 years
-- Fritzl, her father, sexually abuses her repeatedly
-- Fritzl and Elizabeth have 7 children
-- One baby does not survive childbirth, Fritzl disposes of it in an incinerator
-- Three children live with Elizabeth in the cellar
-- Three children live with Fritzl and his wife upstairs (their 'grandchildren')
-- One of the children gets seriously ill. A doctor becomes suspicious and tells police. Fritzl is discovered.

*BBC, CNN, Times online

Written by - Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
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