JAKARTA - On Sunday, 27 April 2008, an Austrian man named Josef Fritzl was arrested by the police on charges of incest and kidnapping. He has kept his daughter, Elisabeth, since he was 18 years old.
Elisabeth was locked in the basement by Josef for 24 years. Not only locked up, Josef also made Elisabeth a sex slave of his own father and made him give birth to seven children.
When Fritzl was arrested, all the children were placed in care and Elisabeth was given medical and psychological care. Josef gave the police the code to open a hidden door to the basement which consisted of small, windowless rooms.
Josef later admitted to having imprisoned Elisabeth in the basement for 24 years. Josef also admits being the father of seven children. Josef told investigators that one of their children died in infancy and his body had been thrown into an incinerator.
The police then announced the results of DNA tests confirming Josef as the father of Elisabeth's children. Josef then appears before the judge and is returned to custody.
Planned confinementQuoting The Guardian, Josef is suspected of having abused Elisabeth since she was eleven years old. As a result of this action, Elisabeth had run away from home in 1982.
On August 28, 1984, Josef coaxed Elisabeth into the basement of their house to help her repair the door. What Elisabeth didn't realize was that Josef had prepared a piece of cloth soaked in anesthetic.
Josef covered Elisabeth's mouth and nose with the cloth. Elisabeth's world went dark and since then she has been completely locked up for the next 24 years.
Josef has planned everything. In fact, he has received official permission to build the basement complex since the late 1970s.
It is not difficult to get officials to approve underground developments. It was the height of the cold war.
At that time Austria was also experiencing tense days. Underground bunkers were seen as normal and needed to be held.
Before being locked up by Josef, Elisabeth repeatedly ran away from her father's lecherous behavior. However, all attempts always ended with him returning home because he was found by the police or his father.
So when Elisabeth disappeared again, there was a letter telling friends and family that she fled to join a sect, they just believed. Even though they are all made by Josef.
Seven incest pregnanciesDuring her imprisonment, Elisabeth had to face the crimes of her father who often raped her. Even several times a day. This resulted in seven incest pregnancies.
All labor without medical assistance. To prepare for the birth, usually Josef provides disinfectants, dirty scissors, and books about childbirth.
Josef often threatened Elisabeth and her children, warning them that if they tried to run away, they would be killed. The indictment said: Fritzl told them he had installed a system so that the door would give them an electric shock if they tried to open it and poison would be released into the basement if they tried to escape.
In addition, Josef also often punished Elisabeth by turning off all electricity to the basement for days. Elisabeth was finally cold, alone, and in total darkness.
End of sufferingElisabeth's suffering ended when one of her 19-year-old children, Kerstin became seriously ill. Josef took him to the hospital.
There, doctors were very suspicious of Kerstin's stature. He was very pale with bad teeth and lay dying in intensive care.
Realizing that the hospital was getting suspicious, Josef freed Elisabeth and two other children from the basement. He told his wife, Rosemarie, that Elisabeth chose to go home and quit the sect.
However, the police received a tip from an anonymous about Josef's behavior. The police also arrested Josef, who was with Elisabeth at the time near Amstetten Hospital, where Kerstin was being treated.
Elisabeth's children were found in the house. During police interrogation, 42-year-old Elisabeth revealed that all her sufferings had been locked up underground for decades.
On March 19, 2009, Josef was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 15 years. Josef said he accepted the sentence and would not file an appeal.
Josef is currently serving his sentence at Garsten Monastery, a former monastery in Austria that had been turned into a prison. In May 2017, Josef Fritzl changed his name to Josef Mayrhoff after getting into a prison fight that resulted in some of his teeth being knocked out after another inmate created a fake dating profile with his name and photo.
Mark Perry, a British journalist who interviewed Josef, said he showed no remorse for his crimes. Josef continues: Just look at other people's basements, you may find other families and girls there.
In April 2019, it was reported that Josef's health was failing and he didn't want to live anymore. Fritzl is reportedly suffering from dementia and his condition is getting worse.
* Read other information about WORLD HISTORY or read other interesting writings from Putri Ainur Islam.
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