Josef Fritzl's, the 'Monster of Amstetten,' unusual statements from prison

When Josef Fritzl's crimes became known in 2008, the world was stunned and shocked - nobody could have ever imagine these seemingly kind man could be capable of such horrendous acts.

Until then, he was considered a responsible family man, who led a tranquil life with his wife and children in Amstetten, Lower Austria, and lovingly cared for the children of his missing daughter.

On August 28, 1984, Fritzl lured his then 18-year-old daughter Elisabeth into the basement of the house, drugged her, tied her up and locked her in a room specially prepared as a cell - without daylight.

A day later she was reported missing, after a few weeks a letter appeared in which the daughter told her family she did not want them to find her. All the while, she was being held against her will, in a prison made by her own father.

In the years that followed, Fritzl mistreated and abused his daughter, who was not allowed to leave the basement that her father had previously soundproofed.

Elisabeth had seven children, one of whom died shortly after birth. Fritzl told his wife Rosemarie, who knew nothing of the whereabouts of her daughter, that Elisabeth had joined a sect.

Fritzl also told his wife that that three of the alleged grandchildren were left on the doorstep together with a letter from their mother and then were raised by Fritzl and his wife.

In April 2008, the 24-year ordeal finally came to an end. Kerstin, the eldest child who lived in the basement, became seriously ill, so Elizabeth  asked her father to take Kersten to the state hospital Mostviertel Amstetten.

The doctors became suspicious because the letter enclosed by the now 42-year-old Elisabeth contained only vague information about the course of the disease and informed the authorities.

Under pressure, Fritzl finally took his daughter to the hospital as well, where shortly afterwards the full extent of the crime came to light. Pictured: the hospital where Elizabeth and her children were cared for.

The Austrian was tried in March 2009 for murder by omission, violating his daughter, imprisonment, coercion and consanguinity.

Fritzl was sentenced to life behind bars. Josef is doing his time at a correctional facility for mentally ill offenders.

The 88-year-old recently wrote his biography together with his lawyer Astrid Wagner, which has now also been translated into English. The book entitled 'The Abysses of Josef F.' caused another scandal.

Click on to get a shocking preview of some of the most unbelievable statements from his book, his interview with the 'Sun' and his victims.

According to 'Bild', the book should be a warning to everyone about what can happen if you don't deal with your problems and "how quickly really bad things can happen". Nevertheless, Fritzl wants people to read his biography "without prejudice against me."

In the book, the Austrian first describes his life during these 24 years and his dilemma: "There was no one I could confide in. I had to continue on the path I had chosen." Even when he was arrested in 2008, he felt "left alone".

According to the German newspaper the 'Kronen Zeitung', Fritzl writes about violating his own daughter in the book: "Not everything happened as it was portrayed in the media."

Fritzl goes on to say he is not a monster, as the media describe him, because after his arrest he received many letters from people who encouraged him. He also claims to have received love letters from women.

Josef, who was born in 1935, has big plans for his future, telling The Sun he wants to live until he is 130 years old.

In the interview with The Sun he opened up about his daily fitness routine to be well prepared for his release. Fritzl told the newspaper that he watches his diet, drinks a lot of water and is convinced that one day he would see his family again.

According to the German media outlet 'Blick', in his book Fritzl says he would like to spend the rest of his life in freedom. If he were released he would like to move back to his hometown and "maybe set up a small business" and "rent a comfortable apartment".

The prison court responsible for Josef Fritzl's case, wanted to transfer him from the safest psychiatric prison in Austria,  in April 2022, which would have even made early release possible.

But the Krems Regional Court finally agreed with the Higher Regional Court: "Vienna's Higher Regional Court recognized the need for further accommodation in an institution for mentally abnormal lawbreakers," said a press release.

In 'The Abyss of Josef F.' the prisoner says that in addition to the 7 children he has with his daughter, he has other illegitimate children that nobody knew about for a long time.

These children arose from affairs during his business trips around the world. Fritzl says he is particularly proud of a son he is said to have with a woman from Ghana, "because he is now a respected lawyer."

(Image: Demonstrators protest in front of the courthouse in Sankt Pölten on March 16, 2009)

In the interview with The Sun, which was conducted in prison, Fritzl said he watched King Charles' coronation and was a big fan and monarchist.

The criminal, who is now suffering from dementia, also talks about his wife in the book and tries to justify himself: "I always got along well with her, but we had very different areas of life … I was always looking for adventure somehow."

Josef goes on to write that because he is actually a good person, he simply cannot understand why his wife Rosemarie no longer wants any contact with him.

Josef also talks about his divorce in his book writing, "I think it's time to talk about what happened. To make a clean sweep, so to speak. We've been married for 69 years now, you can't just erase that!"

However, Fritzl's words don't match his actions, particularly since he was the one who divorced his wife in 2012, which meant that she lost her entitlement to his pension and has been dependent on Austrian emergency aid ever since

According to the Austrian newspaper 'Heute.at', forensic doctor Heidi Kastner describes Fritzl as a "master of suppression and manipulation". His wife was also "a victim of his ill needs" and  distanced herself from him when his crimes came to light.

Even if the book does not give the overall impression, according to media reports, that he regrets his actions, a passage says, "I regret my crimes and the pain I caused. I am extremely sorry. I would never do something like that again."

Josef also says he misses his family and grandchildren, but firmly believes that he will see them again and that they will forgive him.

But what is the attitude of Astrid Wagner, his lawyer and co-author of the book? Did he have the right to publish something like that? In the foreword, she takes his side: "Everyone has the right to be heard. Anyone who is looking for the causes of crime, who wants to track down human abysses, who has an open, inquisitive mind, is with us right in this book."

For several years, Wagner has repeatedly stated that Fritzl would no longer pose a threat. In April she described him to the newspaper 'Niederösterreichische Nachrichten' as "no longer dangerous".

Wagner gave this interview a few weeks after her application for Fritzl's release from prison was again rejected. Two years earlier, the neurologist Wolfgang Soukop had attributed a narcissistic personality to Josef Fritzl in a report.

According to the Kronenzeitung, the prisoner at the Stein prison (Krems an der Donau) applied for his last name to be changed in 2017. This was approved by the registry office in Krems. Since then he has been allowed to call himself Mayrhoff for a fee of 545 euros.

The inmate has not commented on the reasons, but the media speculate that he would like to be anonymous for new fellow prisoners and the younger generation. According to The Sun, he avoids going into the prison yard for fear of being beaten up.

According to 'Kurier', the horror house in Amstetten has returned to normal after a long period of vacancy and a foreclosure sale. It was converted into an apartment building and the

(Image: The house in 2008)

The basement was filled in with concrete in 2014. All nine apartments are now rented and many residents do really no anything about the history of the building.

The identities of Elisabeth and her children have been largely kept under wraps. After their liberation, they received comprehensive psychological care for a year and were supported by the victim protection fund. According to '20 Minuten', they have been living at an unknown address in Austria since December 2008.

However, as the daily newspaper 'Österreich' reported in 2009, the 'Sun' published pictures of Elisabeth and one of her daughters. The victims' lawyers then wrote a statement: "Those affected experience this as an unreasonable impairment of their lives in freedom."

In addition, the family does not want any contact with the press and does not want to give any interviews. The pictures were not published in German-speaking countries for legal reasons.

According to an article in 'Bild' from 2008, Elisabeth and her children are doing well given the circumstances. Fritzl's sister-in-law Christine R. commented on the state of health of the family: "The children are fine, there are no major injuries."

Elisabeth herself has fallen in love again and two of her children are going to university. Unfortunately, one of her sons had to learn to walk upright after being imprisoned because he was much too tall for the 1.74 meter high basement. Somehow, the family is trying to move on and live as normal of a life as possible.