Cellar father faces murder charge
The Austrian father who allegedly imprisoned and abused his daughter for 24 years has been charged with murdering one of their seven children. Austrian prosecutors say the charges against Joseph Fritzl carry a prison sentence of 10 years to life. Mr Fritzl is also charged with slavery and rape. If found guilty, he faces 20 years in jail on those charges. He has been in custody since the case came to light in April and a trial is expected to begin early next year. Mr Fritzl fathered seven children with his daughter Elisabeth, now aged 42, in a cellar at his home in Amstetten, west of Vienna. Three of them grew up in the cellar - without ever seeing daylight - while three others were brought up by Mr Fritzl's wife. Incinerated Now prosecutors have levelled charges at him over the death of the seventh child, a baby born in the underground chamber. Mr Fritzl is alleged to have refused to call for medical help after the baby was born, despite knowing the child could die. "Despite recognising the baby's life-threatening situation, he deliberately decided not to intervene," prosecutors said in the charge sheet against Mr Fritzl.

He has told police that he took the body of the child and incinerated it in a furnace. Under Austrian law the act of not seeking medical attention for the newborn child is classified as murder. Mr Fritzl, 73, was declared mentally fit to stand trial last month. His lawyer has refused to comment on the charges against his client. 'Born to rape' Elisabeth Fritzl disappeared in August 1984, when, police say, her father lured her downstairs, drugged her and handcuffed her before locking her up. Between 1993 and 1997 three children were found outside the Fritzl's home in Amstetten, west of Vienna. All three were taken in and either adopted or fostered by Rosemarie Fritzl, who believed her daughter was living elsewhere but was unable to care for her young children. Mr Fritzl had told his wife - and social services - that Elisabeth had run away to join a sect. Local authorities have said they found no discrepancies in his explanations for how the three children came to be with the Fritzls.

The truth of the case first came to light in April after 19-year-old Kerstin, one of the children fathered by Mr Fritzl, became seriously ill and was taken to hospital. DNA tests have shown Mr Fritzl - who has allegedly told a psychiatrist he was "born to rape" - is the father of Elisabeth's surviving children. Elisabeth, her children and her mother have been undergoing psychiatric treatment and are thought to be at a secret location learning to resume a normal existence. Joseph Fritzl . Allegedly 'humiliated' by mother, leaving deep psychological scars. Convicted of rape in 1967; criminal record cleared after 15 years . Has said he locked up Elisabeth to protect her, and was unhappy with her social life . Began constructing cellar in 1981 or 1982 . Qualified electrician, installed special locks on cellar doors. Inside Josef Fritzl's cellar dungeon For 24 years Elisabeth Fritzl and three of her children lived an isolated life in three tiny underground chambers, deprived of natural light and room to move around freely.

The rest of the Fritzl family lived in the house upstairs and had been forbidden by the domineering Josef Fritzl from ever going into the cellar, where the dungeon was. The secret location was so well hidden that when the police searched the property they failed to find it until Mr Fritzl showed them where it was. To get to the dungeon you have to pass through five different rooms in the cellar - including a room containing a furnace, a small office room and Mr Fritzl's workshop. Hidden behind a shelf in the workshop is a one metrehigh reinforced concrete door. The dungeon is entered via a narrow passageway leading into rooms that include a cooking area and shower facilities, with children's drawings on the walls. These rooms cover an area of approximately 60 sq m (650 sq ft). Special code ORF, Austria's public broadcaster, reports that the workshop and cellar area was strictly off limits to the Fritzl family members who lived upstairs.

Mr Fritzl sublet parts of the family house to tenants - who recall being forbidden to enter the cellar. "Whoever enters it will be given immediate notice," one former tenant was told, according to the Austrian newspaper Kurier. The secret door was electronically locked and could only be opened with a special code and a remote control - which Mr Fritzl is reported to have carried with him at all times. The dungeon is divided into cells - some parts no more than 1.70m (5.6ft) high. A narrow corridor, five metres long, leads to an area which includes cooking facilities and a small bathroom with a shower. The floor is uneven and bumpy. A tube provided ventilation. Police said there were also two bedrooms - each containing two beds. At least part of the dungeon appeared to be padded and well sound-proofed. Police have refused to circulate pictures of the victims' sleeping areas or possessions to the press, saying they wished to protect their privacy. Lack of oxygen The rooms are described as being neat and tidy. There are no windows.

The three children who lived in the cellar, 19-year-old Kerstin and her two brothers aged 18 and five, had never seen daylight, and grew up with artificial light. They had no fresh air and no room to exercise or run around. Hospital officials said the lack of oxygen may have contributed to Kerstin's illness. She remains in a critical condition. Police described the two boys as very pale, small and weak. Children's paintings and posters were hung on the walls. Police say there was a television with a video player and a radio. All of Elisabeth's seven children were born in the dungeon without medical supervision. One died shortly after being born. Gradually enlarged As Mr Fritzl's secret family grew, he began to enlarge the dungeon. Police say it is still unclear how he managed to carry out this construction work secretly, as well as deliver food and clothing to Elisabeth and the three children without being noticed.

They believe the underground dungeon was originally one room, equipped only with washing facilities, which was gradually enlarged over the years. It is thought Mr Fritzl may also have expanded under the house's garden. Amstetten authorities authorised the building of a cellar in 1978, city spokesman Hermann Gruber told the Austria Press Agency. Mr Gruber said inspectors examined the project in 1983 - the year before Elisabeth went missing - and did not notice anything suspicious, but that he believed Mr Fritzl had not stuck to the original plans but had secretly expanded the cellar area. Profile: Josef Fritzl The story of Josef Fritzl has been described as one of the worst cases in Austria's criminal history. The 73-year-old has been charged with murdering one of the seven children he fathered with a daughter whom he allegedly kept locked in a cellar for 24 years. Mr Fritzl, who has been in custody since the case came to light in April, has also been charged with rape, incest, false imprisonment and slavery. His trial is expected to begin early next year. Police say Mr Fritzl has confessed to burning the body of one of the seven children shortly after it died in infancy.

He had also admitted incarcerating the children's mother - his daughter, Elisabeth, who is now 42. Police have said that confession was supported by DNA evidence. Police do not believe anyone else was involved in Elisabeth's incarceration. 'Very intelligent' The picture that has emerged is of a man who led a double life. In public he appeared to be a respectable member of the community, living in Amstetten with his wife Rosemarie, with whom he had seven grown-up children. But DNA tests have confirmed he had a second, secret family with Elisabeth, whom police say he lured into a cellar in 1984 and raped repeatedly. She gave birth to seven children, three of whom he and Rosemarie adopted or fostered. Three children remained in the cellar with their mother. Local social services have said that there appeared to be nothing suspicious about the family and that Mr Fritzl managed to explain "very plausibly" how three of his infant grandchildren had turned up on his doorstep. Amstetten's local governor, Hans-Heinz Lenze, told Austria's public broadcaster ORF that investigations had not revealed any major discrepancies with Mr Fritzl's story that Elisabeth had run away to join a sect.

When Elisabeth was still a toddler, Mr Fritzl was convicted of raping a woman in Linz in 1967 and was sentenced to a term in prison. However, under current Austrian law, unless the crime carries a life sentence, a conviction must be removed after no more than 15 years. Mr Fritzl and his wife did not have any criminal convictions on record at the time of the first adoption in 1994. A qualified electrician, police described Mr Fritzl as "a very intelligent man" who had installed electric locks on the cellar rooms which could only be opened with a special code. They say he locked the sliding reinforced concrete door with a secret remote control, and hid it behind shelves in his cellar workshop. Mr Fritzl was allegedly able to supply his secret family with clothes and food without arousing suspicion by shopping outside of Amstetten. Police say he had an excuse to travel away from home as he owned some land and could shop in other towns and deliver goods to the cellar dungeon in the evening, unnoticed. Domineering Neighbours and acquaintances initially expressed shock at the allegations and said that Mr Fritzl treated his grandchildren affectionately and appeared to be a good grandfather.

Former colleagues described him as hardworking and polite. Police say Mrs Fritzl "had no idea" what was going on, and was devastated to hear of her husband's alleged crimes. Mr Fritzl was reportedly extremely careful to make sure no one went near the cellar where the dungeon was concealed. Police say that they were told by Elisabeth's siblings that he had always been an "authoritarian and domineering father" and was controlling towards his wife. Former tenants who rented apartments in the Fritzl house also describe him as a strict father, and said his wife deferred to him in any decision making. After signing a brief statement of confession Mr Fritzl has refused to give further evidence to the police. The only indication of his motives and psychological state has come from a series of conversations he has had with his lawyer, Rudolf Mayer. Details of what Mr Fritzl told Mr Mayer have been published in News, an Austrian current affairs magazine. "I constantly knew, over the entire 24 years, that what I did was not right, that I must have been crazy because I did something like this," Mr Fritzl was quoted as saying. He said he was driven by an "addiction" that "got out of control" but that he had tried to care for his family in the cellar as best as he could, taking them flowers, books and toys. He also spoke about how he would watch videos with his children while Elisabeth cooked them their favourite meals. Mr Mayer says his client claims he locked Elisabeth up in order to protect her from the outside world. "She did not obey any rules, she hung around in dodgy bars all night and drank and smoked," Mr Fritzl was quoted as saying. Mr Fritzl said that he started preparing the cellar dungeon "around 1981 or 1982".

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