52 Facts About Fritzl case

In March 2009, Fritzl case pleaded guilty to all counts and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Josef Fritzl case was born on 9 April 1935, in Amstetten, Lower Austria, to Josef Sr.

Fritzl case grew up as an only child raised solely by his working mother, who he alleges regularly subjected her son to physical and emotional abuse throughout his childhood.

The elder Fritzl case later fought as a soldier in the Wehrmacht during World War II and was killed in action in 1944.

Fritzl case's name appears on a memorial plaque in Amstetten.

Fritzl case retired from active employment when he turned 60 in 1995, but continued some commercial activities.

In 1972, Fritzl case purchased a guesthouse and an adjacent campsite at Lake Mondsee, managing the property, together with his wife, until 1996.

Fritzl case was arrested and served twelve months of an eighteen-month prison sentence.

Fritzl case later learned that Posch had not shown up for work that day.

Fritzl case had disappeared on her way to Wels, 35 kilometres from where Fritzl worked at the time.

Fritzl case's body was found at the Lipno Reservoir near the Austrian-Czech border, at a time when Fritzl was on holiday there.

Fritzl case was not charged with these murders due to a lack of evidence.

Fritzl case stated that his decision to imprison Elisabeth came about after she "did not adhere to any rules any more" when she became a teenager.

In 1959, after Fritzl case had married and bought his house, his mother moved in with them.

Fritzl case referred to himself as an "alibi" child, meaning that his mother only gave birth to him to prove that she was not barren and could produce children.

Fritzl case stood trial for the murder of the infant Michael, who died shortly after birth, and faced between ten years' and life imprisonment.

Fritzl case was found by police within three weeks and returned to her parents in Amstetten.

On 28 August 1984, after Elisabeth had turned 18, Fritzl case lured her into the basement of the family home, saying that he needed help carrying a door.

Almost a month later, Fritzl case handed over a letter to the police, the first of several that he had forced Elisabeth to write while she was in captivity.

Fritzl case warned her parents not to look for her or she would leave the country.

Fritzl case told police that she had most likely joined a cult.

Fritzl case gave birth to seven children during her captivity.

At times, Fritzl case would punish the family by shutting off their lights or refusing to deliver food for days at a time.

Fritzl case told Elisabeth and the three children who remained, Kerstin, Stefan and Felix, that they would be gassed if they tried to escape.

Fritzl case told them that they would be electrocuted if they tried to meddle with the cellar door.

Fritzl case often stayed there for the night and did not allow his wife to bring him coffee.

On 19 April 2008, Fritzl case agreed to seek medical attention after Kerstin, Elisabeth's eldest daughter, fell unconscious.

Fritzl case forced Elisabeth to return to the chamber, where she remained for a final week.

Fritzl case later arrived at the hospital claiming to have found a note written by Kerstin's mother.

Fritzl case discussed Kerstin's condition and the note with a doctor, Albert Reiter.

Fritzl case repeated his story about Elisabeth being in a cult, and presented what he claimed was the "most recent letter" from her, dated January 2008, posted from the town of Kematen.

Fritzl case noted that Elisabeth's letters seemed dictated and oddly written.

Elisabeth pleaded with Fritzl case to be taken to the hospital where Kerstin was being treated.

Fritzl case told investigators how to enter the chamber through a small hidden door, opened by a secret keyless entry code.

The Fritzl case property in Amstetten is a building dating from around 1890.

Fritzl case had illegally enlarged the room by excavating space for a much larger basement, concealed by walls.

Around 1981 or 1982, according to his statement, Fritzl case started to turn this hidden cellar into a prison chamber and installed a washbasin, toilet, bed, hot plate and refrigerator.

The trial of Josef Fritzl case began on 16 March 2009, in the city of Sankt Polten, presided over by Judge Andrea Humer.

Fritzl case insisted Fritzl was "not a monster," stating that he had brought a Christmas tree down to his captives in the cellar during the holiday season.

Christiane Burkheiser, prosecuting her first Fritzl case since being appointed Chief Prosecutor, pressed for life imprisonment in an institution for the criminally insane.

Fritzl case's attorney confirmed that she had been in the visitors' gallery in disguise at the time her video testimony was aired.

On 19 March 2009, Fritzl case was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for fifteen years.

Fritzl case said that he accepted the sentence and would not appeal.

Fritzl case is currently serving out his sentence in Garsten Abbey, a former monastery in Upper Austria converted into a prison.

Factors that traumatised the "upstairs" children include learning that Fritzl case had lied to them about their mother abandoning them, the abuse they had received from him during their childhood, and finding out that their siblings had been imprisoned in the cellar.

In May 2017, Fritzl case changed his name to Josef Mayrhoff, probably due to getting into a prison fight where several of his teeth were knocked out, after other inmates set up a fake dating profile with his name and picture.

In late April 2022, a panel of three judges decided that Fritzl case could be moved.

The move to a regular prison would mean that Fritzl case, who received a life sentence, was eligible for parole in 2023, having served the initial fifteen years of his sentence.

In January 2024, Fritzl case applied to Krems regional court for release from prison into a nursing home, but the application was rejected.

On 25 January 2024, the Higher Regional Court approved Fritzl case's move to a regular prison, amid reports that he was suffering from dementia.

In May 2024, the court dismissed the complaint and again ruled that Fritzl case should be transferred.

In 2021, Lifetime released a film inspired by the Fritzl case titled Girl in the Basement which is part of Lifetime's "Ripped from the Headlines" feature films.