In the early 1980s, in the Austrian town of Amstetten, engineer Josef Fritzl was busy expanding the basement of his home. Little did his wife Rosemarie and their seven children know the horrific fate that awaited their fourth child, Elizabeth Fritzl.
On a fateful day in August 1984, Josef told the 18-year-old Elizabeth to help him fix the basement door. As she stood by her father’s side, he suddenly pushed her inside and locked the door, trapping her in a secret dungeon he had meticulously constructed. Elizabeth’s cries for help went unheard, as the soundproof chamber kept her screams from reaching the outside world.
Rosemarie, distraught by her daughter’s sudden disappearance, reported the incident to the police, but Josef easily evaded their investigation. For the next 24 years, Elizabeth was held captive in the underground lair, enduring unspeakable abuse at the hands of her own father.
Over the course of her imprisonment, Elizabeth gave birth to seven children, three of whom Josef allowed to live with the family upstairs, while the others were either left to die or secretly placed on the family’s doorstep. The confined space became increasingly cramped as Josef forced Elizabeth and the children to expand the basement, turning it into a 580-square-foot living quarters.
It wasn’t until 2008, when Josef’s carefully crafted facade began to unravel, that Elizabeth’s harrowing ordeal finally came to light. After one of her daughters fell critically ill, the hospital staff alerted the authorities, leading to the discovery of the secret dungeon and the arrest of Josef Fritzl.
The trial that followed was a grueling affair, with Josef initially denying the charges. However, the overwhelming evidence, including DNA tests that confirmed the children’s paternity, ultimately led to his conviction. In March 2009, Josef was sentenced to life in prison, a just punishment for the unspeakable crimes he had committed against his own flesh and blood.
Today, Elizabeth and her children are rebuilding their lives, having been granted new identities and a safe haven far from the horrors of the past.
