47 Facts About Fritzl case

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

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

Fritzl case rejoined her waitress course, finished it in mid-1984, and was offered a job in nearby Linz.

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

In reality, Fritzl case had been converting the basement into a makeshift prison chamber; the door was the last thing he needed to seal it.

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 told police that she had most likely joined a cult.

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 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 her 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.

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

Police spokesman Franz Polzer said police planned to interview at least 100 people who had lived as tenants in the Fritzl case apartment building in the previous 24 years.

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 cell and installed a washbasin, toilet, bed, hot plate, and refrigerator.

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

Fritzl case grew up as an only child raised solely by his working mother.

Fritzl case's father, who was a severe alcoholic, had deserted the family when Fritzl was four, and never again came into contact with him.

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.

Fritzl case ran it, together with his wife, until 1996.

Fritzl case was arrested and served 12 months of an 18-month prison sentence.

Fritzl case decided to imprison Elisabeth after she "did not adhere to any rules any more" when she became a teenager.

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.

Pursuant to the agreement that she would never have to see her father again, Elisabeth Fritzl case gave videotaped testimony before Austrian prosecutors and investigators on 11 July 2008.

Fritzl case stood trial for the murder of the infant Michael, who died shortly after birth, and faced between 10 years and life imprisonment.

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

On day one, Fritzl case entered the courtroom attempting to hide his face from cameras behind a blue folder, which he was entitled to do under Austrian law.

Fritzl case insisted Fritzl was "not a monster," stating that Fritzl 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.

On 18 March 2009, Elisabeth Fritzl case attended the second day of the criminal trial against her father, in preparation for a book she wrote about her ordeal.

On 19 March 2009, Fritzl case was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for 15 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 that has been 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, Josef Fritzl case changed his name to Josef Mayrhoff, probably due to getting into a prison fight that resulted in several of his teeth getting knocked out after other inmates set up a fake dating profile with his name and picture.

The ruling was appealed, and in late April 2022, a panel of three judges decided that Josef Fritzl case could be moved.

The move to a regular prison means that Fritzl case, who received a life sentence, will be eligible for parole in 2023, having served the initial 15 years of his sentence.

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.