Amstetten, Austria News

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." If ever a family has been unhappy in its own way, then it is the Fritzl clan, in Amstetten, Austria. via The Independent

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“The children are able to play at the clinic, get some exercise, move about freely. They have their own toys and other belongings with them and they are being cared for by a team of minders”

Six Austrian children born to a woman made pregnant her father and kept prisoner for 24 years are now playing in the spring sunshine and have even celebrated a birthday together, the doctor in charge of their ... via Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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“In general terms, penalties are lenient. The general outlook of the court is in favor or rehabilitation, although today there is a lot of discussion that this doesn't work.”

Members of a forensic team talk with a policeman in front of the house of Josef Fritzl in Amstetten, Lower Austria, on Wednesday, April 30, 2008. via HendersonvilleNews.com

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Residents of Amstetten hold a vigil for the family of Elisabeth Fritzl imprisoned by her father for 24 years. via Reuters

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“It was a far greater amount than estimated”

By BARBARA SURK The Associated Press Updated 04/29/08 - 5:41 PM Kerstin Joensson Outside view of the Mostviertel hospital in Amstetten-Mauer, Austria, on Monday, April 28, 2008, where a 42-year-old woman who ... via Rock Hill Herald

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“The law favors relatives. It was intended to be that way.”

A 73-year-old Austrian who has confessed to locking his daughter in a windowless cellar for 24 years and fathering her seven children will appear before a judge on Tuesday. via 94.5 The Fox

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“Elisabeth F. taught them how to speak”

Police on Monday questioned a man they say held his daughter captive for 24 years and sexually abused her in a 'house of horrors' _ a high-tech, windowless cell where she allegedly gave birth to at least six children.

Lower Austria police said in a statement that the 42-year-old woman, identified as Elisabeth F., had been missing since Aug. 29, 1984. She was found by police in the town of Amstetten on Saturday evening after police received a tip.

'We are being confronted with an unfathomable crime,' said Interior Minister Guenther Platter. Read more

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“I'm totally shocked, this was next door. It's terrible.”

A man has confessed to imprisoning his daughter for 24 years in windowless cell with a soundproofed door and fathering seven children with her, police said Monday.

The man, now 73, also told investigators that he tossed the body of one of the children in an incinerator when the infant 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, who is now 42, had been missing since 1984 and was found by police in the town of Amstetten on Saturday evening after police received a tip. Read more

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General outside front view of a house where a 73-year-old man locked up his daughter in a basement for 24 years and fathered seven children with her, seen on April 27, 2008 in Amstetten, Austria. via Kutv.com

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Police have found a woman missing since 1984, who told authorities that her father had kept her in a cellar for almost 24 years and that she had given birth to at least six children after being repeatedly raped by him.

The 73-year-old father was taken into custody, said Franz Polzer, head of the Lower Austrian Bureau of Criminal Affairs, on Sunday.

Authorities found the woman Saturday evening in the town of Amstetten following a tip, Lower Austria police said in a statement.

The 42-year-old woman told police that her father began sexually abusing her when she was 11 and locked her in a room in the cellar on Aug. 28, 1984. Read more

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