Josef Fritzl, ‘monster of Amstetten’, could be released from prison

The case of Josef Fritzl, known as 'The Monster of Amstetten' in Austria, gained international attention because of its horrific nature: he kept his daughter locked in a basement for 24 years, abusing her and fathering seven children with her.

Elizabeth: Fritzl’s daughter, was reported missing in 1984, when she was 18, but she was always locked in the basement of her own home.

For these crimes, Fritzl was sent to an institution for mentally disturbed prisoners in 2009, after his conviction for abuse, enslavement, i n c e s t and murder by neglect of one of his newborn sons.

According to the Mirror, one of the seven babies he fathered with his daughter, died at his hands a few days after being born and was sent straight to the incinerator.

As to the other six, three of the them remained with their mother in captivity, and the other three were raised by Fritzl and his wife, Rosemarie.

Fritzl also made his wife believe that Elizabeth had left her children on their doorstep, with a note asking them to raise them, which led Rosemarie to believe that her daughter had left voluntarily.

In 2024 a court in Austria ruled to move Fritzl from the mental institution to a regular prison arguing his old age and ill health. But now, he could even be released from prison for the same reasons.

According to the Mirror, Fritzl’s lawyer, Astrid Wagner, has confirmed that she will apply for parole for her client, arguing that he no longer poses a danger to society due to his age and state of health.

Furthermore, Astrid Wagner said  that if not in 2025, it would be in 2026. "If the court rejects it, we will appeal and, given his condition, I think he will be released next year," she told the Mirror.

His lawyer also said that her client "regrets his decisions every day" but believes he still has friends and people waiting for him outside prison.

The case finally broke in 2008  when Josef Fritzl took his 19-year-old daughter/granddaughter Kerstin to the hospital, claiming to be her grandfather. But they had no record of her and they asked to see the mother.

When Elizabeth presented herself in the hospital, she ended up confessing what had happened to her over the past 24 years.

Joseph Fritzl was immediately arrested and confirmed that he had kept his daughter locked up, sedated and tied up for all those years.

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