A 73-year-old Austrian man has confessed to imprisoning his daughter in a cellar for 24 years and fathering her seven children, police have said.
Police said Josef Fritzl also confessed to burning the body of a baby that died after birth at the house in Amstetten, in the province of Lower Austria.
Authorities are caring for the woman, now 42, and her six surviving children. Police have released photos of the man’s basement which show a concealed network of tiny windowless chambers.
The woman, Elisabeth, disappeared aged 18 on 28 August 1984 when, according to her testimony, her father lured her into the cellar, drugging and handcuffing her before locking her up.
She is reported to have been made to write a letter which made it look as if she had run away.
The head of the criminal affairs bureau in Lower Austria, Franz Polzer, said Mr Fritzl had admitted sexually abusing his daughter repeatedly during the time he imprisoned her.
Mr Polzer said Mr Fritzl had told investigators Elisabeth had given birth to seven children, including twins in 1996, but one died shortly after being born and that he had thrown the body into an incinerator in the building.
The surviving children are now aged between five and 19 years
The cellar rooms, covering an area of approximately 60 sq m (650 sq ft), were equipped for sleeping and cooking, and with sanitary facilities.
A reinforced concrete door was built into the wall that separated the “dungeon” from the house and electronically locked - the code known only to the suspect, who provided his captives with food and necessities, police said.
 Elisabeth had not been seen in public since August 1984 |
Three of the children were kept in the cellar with their mother and had never seen daylight, police told a news conference.
The other three children were adopted or fostered by the suspect, after he forced Elisabeth to write a letter saying she could not look after the baby, according to police.
His wife, Rosemarie, with whom he had seven of their own children, appears to have been unaware of the alleged crimes.
The case came to light when the eldest of the children in the cellar, 19-year-old Kerstin, was seriously ill and had to be taken to hospital.
A television appeal by medical staff for the patient’s mother was seen by Elisabeth on a TV set in the cellar and she urged her father to let her go to hospital.
Police arrested Mr Fritzl shortly afterwards and took all the children into care.
“If you look at him today, you would hardly believe he was capable of doing these things. This man led a double life for 24 years,” said Mr Polzer.
He said it was incredible that it had been kept secret for all that time.
Both the father and Elisabeth say no one else had access to the cellar, according to police, who are appealing to anyone with information about Mr Fritzl to contact them.
Source BBC News
译文:
奥地利男子在地下室非法监禁女儿24年
据警方报道，奥地利一73岁男子供认他
把女儿监禁在地下室24年，并与之乱伦生育了7个孩子。
警方还透露，Josef Fritzl同时承认在下奥地利洲省会阿姆施泰滕，他曾经将夭折的婴儿扔进焚化炉。
政府正在照看这个现年42岁的女人和他6个活着的孩子。警方公布了一些地下室的照片，从上面可以看到这个地下室很隐蔽，没有窗户。
根据Elisabeth的口供，她在1984年8月28日失踪，年仅18岁，她当时被父亲骗进地下室，将她麻醉后铐住她，锁了起来
据报道，她被父亲要求写一封信，制造她离家的假象。
下奥地利洲刑事侦查局局长Franz Polzer说Fritzl已经承认在监禁他女儿期间不断对其进行性虐待。
Mr Polzer说Mr Fritzl告诉调查人员，Elisabeth生下了7个孩子，其中包括1996年出生的一对双胞胎，但是其中一个在出生后不久就死了，他把哪个孩子扔进了那幢大楼的焚化炉。
那些存活的孩子现在最小的5岁，最大的19岁。
那个地下室有60个平方，床，厨具和厕所都有。
警方声称，墙上有扇混凝土大门把地下室和房子隔开，门还用电子锁锁了起来，而密码就只有嫌犯一个人知道，他给被监禁的那些人送些食物和必需品。
 Elisabeth had not been seen in public since August 1984 |
警方在记者招待会上说，其中三个孩子和他们的母亲一同关在阁楼从未见过天日。
嫌犯强迫Elisabeth写信说自己没有能力照顾孩子，所以另外3个孩子就被嫌犯领养带大。
他的妻子Rosemarie，嫌犯与他有7个孩子， 而他对丈夫被指控的罪名似乎并不知情。
他们最大的孩子，19岁的Kerstin病重需要送院才使得这件事情被曝露。
医护人员在电视上为病人的母亲提出呼吁，Elisabeth请求父亲让他去医院。
警方立刻逮捕了Fritzl并照看了6个孩子。
Polzer说，如果你现在看到他，一定不会相信他会做这些事，这个人再24年里过着双重生活。
他认为这件事情能够隐瞒那么多年简直是个奇迹。
警方说，父亲和Elisabeth都说没有人可以接近阁楼 ，警方呼吁任何知道有关Fritzl信息的人都可以联络他们。
Source BBC News