Incest in Austria

can you believe this?
father kidnaps his daughter (Elizabeth) who he began raping when she was 11 and held her captive in their basement for 24 years, fathering 7 children to HIS daughter. all the while he lived upstairs with his wife and mother to Elizabeth. reportedly the 3rd, 4th, and 5th babies were "found" on their doorstep over a number of years and raised by their grandparents (or father and step mother) whilst the two oldest and the youngest child being held also in the basement. while one baby who was a twin (babies 5th and 6th) died a few days after birth. the mother of Elizabeth claims she knew nothing of this. i cant help bit a little suspicious. how can you not know your daughter and 3 grandchildren are locked downstairs? the children would be making a lot of noise not to be heard? and how can you not be suspicious about your grandchildren just showing up on your doorstep? (notes left with the babies were confirmed to be in Elizabeth's handwriting) i also have to ask why did they choose those children to lead above ground lives while the others stayed down stairs?
here is the full story


Austrian 'hid daughter in cellar'

The house where the man and his daughter lived

A 73-year-old Austrian is under arrest on suspicion of hiding his daughter in a cellar for 24 years and fathering seven children with her, police say.

The existence of the woman, believed missing since 1984 and now 42, emerged after a teenager said to be her daughter was taken to hospital.

Both the woman and teenage girl are receiving medical treatment and the other children are in care.

A police investigation in Amstetten, Lower Austria Province, is continuing.

The suspect, named only as Josef F, was arrested on suspicion of incest and keeping his daughter in captivity. He has not responded to the charges against him, police say.

One of the children the man allegedly fathered died in infancy, police believe.

Three children, including the 19-year-old who was taken to hospital, were allegedly kept in the cellar with their mother while the other three reportedly grew up with their grandparents.

DNA tests will be taken to establish whether Josef F was indeed their father.

Placed in care

The alleged crimes came to light after the teenager, named as Kerstin F, was dropped off at the Amstetten hospital last weekend.


KEY FACTS IN CASE
Police secure evidence in the backyard of the suspect's house in Amstetten
Elisabeth reappeared at home after disappearing 24 years ago
Six children she says are hers have been found and placed in care
One of the children, aged 19, is seriously ill in hospital
Elisabeth's father Josef, 73, has been arrested on suspicion of incest and abduction

Cellar case timeline

Finding Kerstin seriously ill, doctors appealed for her mother, who at that time was assumed to be missing, to come forward to provide more details about her medical history.

Josef F allegedly then released the mother and two other children from the cellar, telling his wife Rosemarie that she had chosen to return home, police say.

It was not immediately clear how police were alerted.

The mother, named as Elisabeth F, has been receiving medical and psychological treatment since being discovered.

She appeared "greatly disturbed" psychologically during questioning and agreed to talk only after authorities assured her that she would no longer have to have contact with her father, and that her children would be taken care of, police added.

The six children are three boys and three girls aged between five and 20.

Police spokesman Franz Polzer told reporters they were now all in "psychological care in a secure institution in a clinic here in this area".

"They are being cared for individually - those between 12 and 16 years of age who grew up with their grandparents, and two boys who, when they came out yesterday with their mother, saw the daylight for the first time in their lives," he said.

Police said three of the children were registered with authorities and lived with the grandparents.

According to police, Josef F and wife Rosemarie had told authorities the three had been abandoned at birth outside their home - in 1993, 1994 and 1997 - each time, the couple claimed, with a note from Elisabeth saying she could not care for the babies herself.

'Dead baby burnt'

The police issued a statement giving details of the alleged abuses Elisabeth recounted to them.

BBC map

She said she had been sexually abused by her father since the age of 11.

Josef allegedly lured her into the cellar of their house in Amstetten on 28 August 1984, drugging and handcuffing her before locking her up.

It was assumed she had disappeared voluntarily when her parents received a letter from her asking them not to search for her.

"Abused continuously during the 24-year-long imprisonment", Elisabeth bore six children while a seventh, one of a set of twins, died soon after birth.

The dead baby was allegedly taken out of the cellar and burnt by Josef.

Elisabeth said Josef had provided her and three of her children, who were locked up along with her, with clothing and food.

His wife Rosemarie had allegedly not been aware of what was going on.

The discovery of another Austrian woman, who was held captive in a cellar by an abductor for more than eight years, gripped the country in 2006.

Natascha Kampusch finally escaped from her kidnapper, 44-year-old Wolfgang Priklopil, who killed himself shortly afterwards.

Ms Kampusch was abducted at the age of 10 in 1998 and held in a small, windowless cellar beneath Priklopil's garage in the commuter town of Strasshof, near Vienna.


Austrian detectives study cellar

The house where the man and his daughter lived

Police in Amstetten, Austria, have described the cellar where a woman was allegedly held captive and sexually abused for 24 years by her father.

A series of underground rooms equipped for sleeping and cooking, and with sanitary facilities, lay behind a concealed door, police said.

The father, 73, allegedly had seven children with his daughter, now aged 42, and is under arrest.

Authorities are caring for the daughter and six surviving children.

The small town of Amstetten, about 130km (80 miles) west of Vienna, with its well-kept gardens is in shock, the BBC's Bethany Bell reports.

The case, she notes, is reminiscent of that of Natasha Kampusch, the Austrian teenager held captive in a cellar in a house in a Vienna suburb for eight years, who ran to freedom in 2006.

While police are not connecting the two cases, many Austrians are asking how such matters went undiscovered, our correspondent says.

Door code

Speaking on Sunday evening, Austrian police confirmed they had found the cellar where the daughter, named only as Elisabeth F, was allegedly held along with three of her children.


KEY FACTS IN CASE
Local people watch police at work at the back of the suspect's house in Amstetten
Elisabeth reappeared at home after disappearing 24 years ago
Six children she says are hers have been found and placed in care
One of the children, aged 19, is seriously ill in hospital
Elisabeth's father Josef, 73, has been arrested on suspicion of incest and abduction

Cellar case timeline

Three other children were adopted or fostered by the suspect, named as Josef F, while a seventh allegedly died soon after birth.

Police found the cellar after Josef gave them a code to unlock the hidden door, said Franz Polzer, head of the Lower Austrian Bureau of Criminal Affairs.

"There is not only one, but a number of rooms: one room to sleep in, one to cook, and there are also sanitation facilities," he said.

The floor is uneven and the hallway "very narrow" while the door is "very small", and one has to bend one's head to get through, he added.

"Everything is very, very narrow and the victim herself, the mother of these six or seven children, told us that this was being continually enlarged over the years," Mr Polzer said.

The area also contained sanitary facilities and "small hot plates" for cooking.

DNA tests

Elisabeth is receiving medical and psychological treatment and her children are in care, police said.

BBC map

Her eldest daughter, Kerstin, is in hospital with a serious illness.

The 19-year-old's admission to hospital a week ago, after allegedly being hidden in the cellar with her mother and two siblings, sparked new interest in the whereabouts of Elisabeth.

When she disappeared on 28 August 1984, her parents had received a letter in her handwriting asking them not to search for her, and it was assumed she had run away from home.

However, according to Elisabeth's testimony to police, that day Josef had in fact lured her into the cellar, drugging and handcuffing her before locking her up.

Allegedly, he had already been sexually abusing her from the age of 11.

After Kerstin fell ill, doctors appealed for her mother to come forward to provide details about her medical history.

Josef then released both Elisabeth and the remaining two children from the cellar, telling his wife Rosemarie that she had chosen to return home, police say.

Police arrested him shortly afterwards and took the children into care, along with the three who had been adopted or fostered.

Rosemarie appears to have been unaware of the suspected crimes of her husband.

DNA tests are to be taken to establish whether Josef F was the father of the six surviving children.


Timeline: Austrian cellar case

A timeline of events in the case of a woman in Amstetten, Austria, allegedly held and sexually abused by her father for 24 years in his cellar, during which time she is believed to have given birth to seven of his children.

The events included are based on an Austrian police statement issued after the arrest of the 73-year-old father.

28 AUGUST 1984

The suspected abductor, Josef F, allegedly lures his daughter Elisabeth into the cellar of their house, drugging and handcuffing her before locking her up.

DATE UNKNOWN

Josef and his wife Rosemarie receive a letter in Elisabeth's handwriting saying they should not try to look for her. Rosemarie is unaware of the truth, Elisabeth later tells police.

1988-89 (APPROXIMATELY)

Kerstin, the first of seven reported children, is secretly born (exact date unknown) and raised in the cellar. She is followed shortly by a brother.

1993

A baby is discovered outside the family home along with a letter from Elisabeth saying she cannot care for it. It is taken in by Josef and his wife. A second infant appears in 1994. Both are either fostered or adopted, and are raised by their grandparents.

1996

Twins are born to Elisabeth but one dies shortly after birth and is allegedly taken away and burnt by Josef. The following year, a third infant appears at the house, and is taken in like the previous two, to be raised by grandparents.

2003

A letter arrives from Elisabeth to say she had another baby in December 2002. This child is believed to have been brought up in the cellar along with Kerstin and her brother.

SATURDAY 19 APRIL 2008

Police issue an appeal to missing person Elisabeth F to contact them about her daughter Kerstin, who has been admitted to hospital in Amstetten with a serious illness.

19-27 APRIL 2008

At some point during the week, according to the police statement, Josef releases Elisabeth and the two other children in the cellar, telling his wife Rosemarie she has chosen to return home.

SATURDAY 26 APRIL 2008

Police discover Elisabeth and her children at the house.

SUNDAY 27 APRIL 2008

Police announce the arrest of Josef on suspicion of incest and abduction. All the children are placed in care and Elisabeth is given medical and psychological treatment. Kerstin remains in hospital "fighting for her life".