I screamed many times during those long years, but no one ever heard.” An illness prompts a visit to the hospital An article in March 2010 in The Independent stated that Elisabeth and her children recovered remarkably well, given the difficult lives they endured for so long. [73] According to Josef's sister-in-law, Christine, Elisabeth enjoys spending her time shopping, taking frequent showers, and driving. She has passed her driving test without difficulty. Her relationship with Thomas Wagner, one of her bodyguards (who is 23 years younger than Elisabeth), [74] [75] was reported to be ongoing, with him becoming a big-brother figure to her children. All of Elisabeth's children have developed normal sibling relationships with each other, and after having trouble dealing with the traumatic events, the three "upstairs" children slowly began recognising Elisabeth as their mother. The children enjoy being outdoors, playing video games, and spending time with their mother and grandmother. Despite their strained relationship, Elisabeth and her mother Rosemarie started visiting each other more, and Elisabeth has reportedly forgiven her mother for believing her father's story.

House where Josef Fritzl held daughter captive is sold". The Irish Times. 6 December 2016. Archived from the original on 7 December 2016 . Retrieved 6 December 2016. It’s very difficult right now for alex, lisa, and Monika, who lived together with their grandma upstairs. They cannot see their friends. They cannot meet their classmates. They even miss school. And this is something which is very hard for them. Boyes, Roger (18 March 2009). "Josef Fritzl on suicide watch as "avenging angel" daughter gives damning testimony". Times Online. London. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011 . Retrieved 22 March 2009. After repeated requests by Elisabeth, Fritzl allows the enlargement of the prison, putting Elisabeth and her children to work for years digging out soil with their hands. The prison was enlarged from 35 m² (380 sq ft) to 55 m² (600 sq ft).

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After his arrest, Fritzl claimed that his behaviour toward his daughter did not constitute rape but was consensual. In extracts from talks with his lawyer, Fritzl said that he "always knew during the whole 24 years that what I was doing was not right, that I must have been crazy to do such a thing, yet it became a normal occurrence to lead a second life in the basement of my house." Regarding his treatment of the family he had with his wife, Fritzl stated, "I am not the beast the media make me to be." Regarding his treatment of Elisabeth and her children in the cellar, he explained that he brought flowers for Elisabeth and books and toys for the children into the "bunker," as he called it, and often watched videos with the children and ate meals with Elisabeth and the children. Fritzl decided to imprison Elisabeth after she "did not adhere to any rules any more" when she became a teenager. "That is why I had to do something; I had to create a place where I could keep Elisabeth, by force if necessary, away from the outside world." He suggested that the emphasis on discipline in the Nazi era, during which he grew up until the age of 10, might have influenced his views about decency and good behaviour. The chief editors of News magazine noted in an editorial that they expected Fritzl's statement to form the basis of the defence strategy of his lawyer. Critics said his statement may have been a ploy to prepare an insanity defence. [25]

July 2014 (23 July 2014). "Fritzl's victim daughter finds love after being freed from house of horrors". 9news.com.au. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019 . Retrieved 19 August 2022. {{ cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list ( link) You could probably talk to 50 different psychiatrists and read all of the literature and get 50 different answers about what drives the incest dynamic.

She watched and decided the time was ripe to demand Herr Fritzl free her children and her. Meanwhile, in the outside world, the police were changing tactics. They started taking DNA samples from the Fritzls. Since three of Elisabeth’s children were living upstairs with Josef Fritzl, children he said his daughter had abandoned. Other tenants were told if they entered the basement, they would receive an immediate eviction notice. How Fritzl Planned To Blame Years Of Torture On Evil Sect". Daily Express. 2 May 2008. Archived from the original on 5 May 2008 . Retrieved 2 May 2008. Rosemarie noted that many times Fritzl spent the night in the basement and instructed her to leave him alone. She knew he had built something in the basement, but he had told her he was building a nuclear shelter. Police later concluded that Rosemarie was so afraid of her husbandthat she “submitted herself to him entirely.” Alfred Dubanovsky Austrian woman who was kidnapped and held captive by her father for 24 years. Her freedom finally came after being released to visit her daughter in the hospital. She was questioned by the police, who were waiting for her. This led to her captor's arrest in the year 2008. Before Fame

Lisa was born in May 1993. At 9 months old, for reasons unknown, she was removed from the cellar to live with Josef and Rosemarie in the upstairs home. According to Josef, she was ‘found in a box” on the doorsteps of their home. Inside the box was a note that read:Her parents are Josef and Rosemarie Fritzl. She has three brothers and three sisters. She gave birth to seven children while captive. One passed away, while the three that were taken to be raised by her parents as their own were Lisa, Monika, and Alexander. The three children who were held captive with her were Kerstin, Stefan, and Felix. Associated With But, incredibly, Fritzl selected the middle three children for a life of freedom upstairs. Alexander, age 12, Monika, 14, and Lisa, 15. His defense lawyer points to his Nazi era childhood. Born in 1935, the Nazis were taking over Austria. Josef Fritzl was brought up as an only child by a strict and cruel mother, a woman he worshiped, telling the Austrian magazine she was the best woman in the world. The children all required therapy to help them adjust to the light after years in semi-dark conditions. They also required physical therapy to help them cope with the extra space that they now had to move about in. Many simple activities, like walking up and down stairs and taking a shower, were foreign to them and had to be learned.