Josef Fritzl to tell court he was ‘good father’ to dungeon family

[babylonsister]

What a monster. :grr:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5914063.ece

Josef Fritzl to tell court he was ‘good father’ to dungeon family
Roger Boyes in Sankt Pölten


Emotionally bruised and fearful of the world, the family of Josef Fritzl will shelter behind the high walls of a psychiatric clinic this week to escape the publicity surrounding the trial of their notorious father.

Mr Fritzl is accused of imprisoning his daughter, Elisabeth, for 24 years, locked in a windowless cellar, raping her on average three times a week, fathering seven children by her and allowing one of them to die. The 74-year-old engineer denies murdering the baby. He says that he is not guilty of enslaving the family and is expected to argue in court that he was in some respects a good father to the children whom he entombed in his specially constructed bunker.

snip//

Elisabeth Fritzl, now 43, has been given a new identity and a new home in a different region of Austria, together with her youngest child, six-year-old Felix. Ms Fritzl has recovered enough to take her driving test and is in regular contact with her other children. Felix is said to be doing well. The two older children from the basement – Stefan, 19, and Kerstin, 20, are still receiving intensive therapy: they grew into adulthood in a world without sunlight or outside human contact. This has given them disabilities – a stoop, restricted spatial awareness, rotting teeth and gums, skin problems, weak immunity – and, socially, they find it difficult to communicate. Speech therapists have been helping them to shed their special, very restricted “downstairs” language.

Together in the clinic, shielded from the publicity surrounding the five day trial – will be Ms Frizl’s three other children: Lisa, 16, Monika, 15 and Alexander, 13. These three children were removed from the bunker by Mr Fritzl soon after birth and were brought up in the upstairs section of the house. They are said to be well adjusted, registering good marks at school, attending music lessons and playing sport.

Ms Frizl’s seventh child, Michael – twin brother of Alexander – died soon after birth in 1996. This forms the basis of the murder charge against her father. News quotes her testimony to the police: “A few hours later {after the birth}, Michael began to suffer breathing problems, his skin turned blue and his legs started to stiffen. Instead of securing medical assistance, the accused said to his daughter. ‘What will be will be’.” The baby died two days later on May 1, 1996. His body was burnt in the house stove, his ashes scattered in the garden by Mr Fritzl.

This incident is likely to be the most contentious. Mr Fritzl has told his defence lawyer, Rupert Mayer, that he is determined not to go down in history as a madman or a murderer.

[Naturyl]

1. Yeah, he's obviously dad of the year.

Gimme a break. It's amazing what some of these defendants will tell themselves (and others).

This guy belongs UNDER the jail.... maybe in a little dungeon made just for him.

[BlooInBloo]

2. Eeeesh. Poor kids.

:cry:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. I'm glad that Elisabeth has been given a new life

Hopefully the government will see to it that she has psychological support for years to come, and that they help watch over her youngest child. I also hope her older children are eventually able to live lives outside an institution. That whole family needs mental help for a long time to come.

[FrenchieCat]

4. That's like saying that Bush has kept us "safe" since 9/11......

really.