Real Life House of Horrors Revealed
A man known only as Josef F. has been accused of imprisoning his own daughter for 24 years and fathering her seven children, three of whom “never saw sunlight”, police said Monday. The suspect is scheduled to appear in front of a judge on Monday.
Josef, now 73, confessed that he disposed the body of one of his grandchildren in an incinerator when the baby died shortly after birth, said Franz Polzer, head of the Lower Austrian Bureau of Criminal Affairs.
“We are being confronted with an unfathomable crime,” Interior Minister Guenther Platter said.
The daughter, Elisabeth F., 42, had been listed as missing since 1984. She was found by police in the Austrian town of Amstetten on Saturday evening. Elisabeth and her children are currently under psychiatric care.
On Monday police released several photos showing parts of Elisabeth’s cramped basement cell which was soundproof and made of solid, reinforced concrete. The basement contained a small bathroom and a narrow passageway leading to a small bedroom. The cell contained a TV and small hot plates used for cooking. Investigators said an electronic keyless-entry system was used to keep Elisabeth from making an escape.
Authorities became aware of Elisabeth’s existence after a seriously ill teenager was found unconscious on April 19 in the apartment building where her grandparents live. The girl was rushed to a hospital in Amstetten, located about 75 miles west of Vienna. During an attempt to diagnose the teen’s condition, authorities publicly appealed for the girl’s mother to come forward.
After receiving a tip from an outside source, police picked up Elisabeth and her father.
Police reported that the woman appeared “greatly disturbed” during questioning. She agreed to speak only after police assured her she would no longer have to be in contact with her father. Elisabeth was also assured her children would receive appropriate care.
According to Elisabeth, her father began sexually abusing her when she was 11 years old. In 1984, Josef sedated her, put her in handcuffs and locked her in the cellar.
A month after Elisabeth’s “disappearance”, her parents received a letter asking them not to search for her.
Three of Elisabeth’s surviving children lived with her grandparents and have been registered with authorities. The other three remained in captivity with their mother, Polzer told reporters.
Hans-Heinz Lenze, a senior local official, said Elisabeth’s mother apparently had “no idea” of what had been happening in their home and was completely devastated.
“You have to imagine that this woman’s world fell apart,” he said.
DNA tests are expected to determine whether Josef F. is the father of the remaining six children.