Gizmodo
To be honest, I wish that I never learned of the Josef Fritzl story in the first place—but it was hard to avoid given the severity of the crimes committed. However, the fact that a man could imprison his daughter in a basement for 24 years and father her seven children is too horrifying and baffling to ignore. Over the last few days we have learned the full magnitude of the events that transpired—three of his incestuous offspring (aged 19,18 and 5) had never seen the sunlight until their release and one of the seven children died due to inadequate care. We also learned that he managed to keep the whole thing a secret—even from his wife. The question is...how?
According to police reports, Fritzl was a retired electrical engineer who used his skills to construct a basement dungeon that measured less than six feet high in some areas with a total living space composed of three "cells" measuring around 650 square feet in total. In order to prevent his family living on the outside from gaining access to the room, Fritzl constructed a gigantic 660 lb. concrete door fitted with an electronic lock behind a shelf in his workshop. The lock could only be opened by a remote control that he carried with him at all times. It wasn't until the 19-year-old fell gravely ill that Fritzl sought medical attention and was subsequently exposed.
Currently, the authorities are still investigating the details of the case—including whether or not Fritzl had help in constructing the hidden rooms. At the very least, it seems likely given the fact that it would be exceedingly difficult, if not impossible for one man to handle a 660 lb. door. All that aside, perhaps the most shocking aspect of the case is that Frtizl is looking at a maximum of 15 years in prison if convicted of rape. At 73, he would probably not live out the term—but the punishment doesn't come anywhere near fitting the crime if you ask me. Even a quick death wouldn't fit the bill. [CNN and BBC News and Yahoo]
Comments
I hate this story - that someone was so depraved that this could even happen.
The guillotine, it works! Also, new tech to help with all your waterboarding needs!
Wow.
Wow. Just wow. I was extremely unsettled when I read this yesterday on CNN. I can't even comprehend a human never seeing sunlight for their entire lives. I'm finding it exceedingly hard to believe that the wife and family upstairs had no idea this was going on under the house...
Waiting for the CSI version of this (or haven't they already done this?)
I would lock him in his own dungeon for the rest of his life...
If only there was a capitol punishment that could leave this man suffering for years...
@sfokevin: I think that dungeon is too nice for him.
This is one case where I would not complain if they cut out his tongue, removed his manhood, poked out his eyes and dropped him out of an airplane at 10,000 feed.
Scary. I had to do a double take. Are you sure this guy doesn't have a little bit of French or Japanese in him? This just seems out of place in Austria of all places.
For those who debate whether non-murder crimes should ever be considered for the death penalty, I shall hereafter utter but one word:
Fritzl.
15 years?. That is completely unfathomable. One can only hope that the inmates wherever he ends up have the sense to give this man the sentence he really deserves.
I just can't understand how he could have fooled his wife for all that time.
This story makes me sick that one "human being" could do this to another. There is no punishment severe enough for what he did to his own daughter for 24 years, not to mention his children/grand children. He is truly a monster and a destroyer of lives.
And I can't believe his wife didn't know what was going on under her own floorboards. I can't imagine you could put enough soundproofing in to cover what must have been the constant screaming for help that went on for at least the first few YEARS of the daughter's rapes and imprisonment.
Love ya', Gizmodo, but you really are starting to stray from the shiny new toys path here (as others have noted recently in other stories). The only connection I can see in this lurid tale that might connect this story to Gizmodo is, what, a remote control? C'mon, team, have yourself a staff meeting and refocus here. Please?
So ill step into the realm of sick minds. I have no problem with that. Is she hot? Ya cant rape the willing.
@takashimike: Sadly, this is like the third captivity story from Austria in the last year; although the others didn't have the incest and seven children bits.
I also find it really hard to believe no one knew. I mean, didn't anyone notice him taking enough food to feed four people down to the basement on a regular basis? Did they ever wonder why he kept buying clothing in ever-larger children's sizes (I'm just assuming they were clothed - argh, brain pain).
@bosskev:
One reason Gizmodo is my favorite blog is because unlike others, they aren't afraid to occasionally step outside the gadget-verse and post a story about something interesting. I'd actually like to hear their take on it rather than listening to the more formal reporting of other blogs.
That guy is messed up and should be put to death.
This is one of those guys who should be turned inside-out alive. Btw: the wife had to of known, three of her grand children lived with her, what do you think he told her? they came from the chimney from the stork honey. Thats nice dear, whatever happened to our daughter? uhh...
@scarbrtj: Ditto.
That FU**ING little BI**H!
Send him to prison to get raped all day by "Bubba and the posse train" And only let him out of solitary confinement to toss a salad or two. (Without jelly or syrup!)
Don't forget to nail his balls to a stool and kick him backwards to the floor!
I just can't believe that someone can do that to their only family. Damn… humanity is really going for sh**
--Deamion
Truly reprehensible, no question...
But one quick thing...
You say 650 square feet like its an unlivable hellhole.
That's bigger than most NYC apartments.
>Scary. I had to do a double take. Are
>you sure this guy doesn't have a little
>bit of French or Japanese in him? This
>just seems out of place in Austria of
>all places.
Whoa whoa whoa WHAT? I think the rediculous wartime offenses of austrians of the last generations speak for themselves, jerkoff. Are you sure he didnt have a little of YOU in him?
@jsmjr816: "Btw: the wife had to of known"
At the very least she had to expect something was up. I mean look at where the room was. I don't care how well built that place was the floor above the place would still sound hollow underneath like there was a basement but somehow the basement is just a narrow hallway at the back? Seriously.
Damm, he didnt even take her to Prom? What a shitty boyfriend.
@Hiphopopotamus: I was thinking the same thing. I had one friend living in a 250-square-foot efficiency that was a 4-story walk up.
Of course, the trade-off is that she could go out and enjoy New York City anytime she wanted. I doubt she would have paid the unbelievable rent on the place if her only option was to stay in and be raped by her father.
@legacye: I likewise appreciate the often ribald, rough and tumble, life-on-the-cyber-frontier kind of fun here. I'm just saying that there are plenty of other informally reporting media/news/gossip kinds of blogs--most of them from Gawker--that are way more in tune with this kind of story. Let me find this kind of shocking story there, please, and bring me more shiny objects.
@MONSTERGOC: That comment is beneath contempt.
As for the man who did this to his own daughter and children/grandchildren, justice will be dealt to him in the afterlife in ways too horrible to even consider in this life. I personally fear no worldly justice like I fear that on the other side. I daresay if he is smart at all, he will be afraid. Be VERY afraid.
That is sick. At least he showed one last shred of humanity by taking the sick girl to the doctor, and by not killing the children he fathered.
This story is very sad.
On so many levels.
I wish I could think of something clever and funny to say to lighten the mood, but I just can't.
This doesn't make sense. Why would they only give him 15 years? He should get at least 24 years which is the amount of time he kept this poor, innocent girl/woman in that condition. The woman (I can't believe -- his daughter) must have some sort of mental problem or something to have endured this. Why o why can't Europe make exceptions to their stance on the death penalty. This guy should be taken out of our fragile world. I hate to think he's breathing the same air we value so much. He deserves the absolute worst we could offer or imagine.
As for takashimike, I'm neither French nor Japanese but I don't think what you said is smart. I'm not saying Austrians are any better or worse than anyone else in the world but note something, Hitler, he was neither French nor Japanese. He was Austrian.
15 years multiplied by 24 multiplied by the age of each child multiplied by 7 multiplied by 20 (maximum sentence in Austria for murder through failure to act)
that's how long he should be locked up for.
And on a "technical" note he must have had a good ventilation system installed for the family to survive in there all these years..
Oh, god. I never knew this level of sick existed.
I find myself baffled at the maximum of 15 years. Would raping your daughter constantly over 24 years count as only one offense?
To those of you complaining about this post on a gadget blog, wanting more shiny toys, I couldn't disagree with you more. Although there was no need to try and link the story up to gadgetry IMO.
Lighten up people. The world is full of tragedy. Remember Jack Handys words of wisdom. It take a big Man to cry. But it takes a bigger Man to laugh at that Man.
Ve vant to see ze papers for ze construction permits. You have ze papers, ya? Nein? Zat vill be a 20 year sentence fur not having ze papers! Und 5 more years for not having ze two methods of egress from ze basement.
On ze more serious note, wouldn't you detect when someone else used hot water in the house, or a drop in pressure when a mystery toilet kept flushing while you were taking a shower upstairs? Very strange indeed that Frau Fritzl would be so clueless. Of course over the span of 20 years Obama didn't really get a good handle on what his pastor thought either.
@ babysealclubber. You never knew this level of sick existed? Welcome to the internet. Its not a Truck, its more like a series of tubes.
And with a name like Babysealclubber its hard to take your admonishment seriously.
Drop him (tied up) into a vat of earwigs and leeches. This guy is a monster ;[
in 15 years none of the people living in the basement thought to scream?
the daughter couldnt beat the crap out of a 70 year old man and get the damn remote?
somethings not adding up here.
@MONSTERGOC:
I don't think I'd consider you man.
I call BS on the wife not knowing, i mean how could you seriously expect your own daughter to go missing for 24 years!!! and not do anything about it?? I wonder if the husband is that good of a liar. But still. oh Gizmodo, how i miss sitting in front of my monitor and read your apple fanboy-ness. :(
I say, tie him up naked and bent over somewhere in ADX Florence and let each prisoner have a little recreational time with him.
@jsmjr816: I tend to agree with you, if I where still married, i would NEVER allow my husband to keep me out of any portion of the house. I mean sure private space is nice, but to totally not allow entry at all would be suspicious beyond all belief to me. Of course, I'm divorced and i don't live in Austria.
jsmjr816 He told his wife that the girl ran away when she was 18 (which is when he put her in the basement) and the three children of hers that the wife knew of, the husband told her that they were dropped off by her in the middle of the night on the doorstep with notes saying she couldn't take care of them.
@MONSTERGOC: It's just a level. Of course there have been crimes that could be argued as being worse. People torturing others, then eating them, genocide, etc. My comment bordered on hyperbole, and I suppose I should apologize. Call it a knee jerk post.
FYI, I don't consider baby seal clubbing to be all that evil.
Also, it's sort of a joke, if you look at the avatar, you would get it.
.
@jsmjr816: The daughter's disappearance was reported when she was 7, and the guy told his wife and the police that the other kids he had found abandoned, and decided to adopt them.
@tgwaste: The room is sound proof and I suspect after 18 years of captivity you would go a little crazy and not be able to at rationally.