I notice not one of the members of his family have been willing to give evidence - only the daughter.

Something smells. I do know how the police work.
And there's no reason why Austrian police should be any more moral than British ones.
Are we seeing a simple case of incest inflated like crazy to make "a better story"?

We all know how the meejah LOVE a good story.

Man screws daughter is far less commercially populist than Mad Rapist locks up daughter and rapes her over decades.

We can't really underestimate the seriousness of this crime. He had seven children with his daughter and locked her up for 24 years. The children aren't prepared to testify because it wouldn't achieve anything, they just want to forget about it all and move on.

I don't think there is any doubt that she has been locked up for 24 years. Fritzl wouldn't have built an underground soundproof prison in his house for fun.

In many areas of the world incest is not illegal.In fact not even sure about the UK.Marriage of course is not an option,but the actual act?
So as said spice it up a lot,corrupt an old fool's image,then we have the perfect bogeyman to distract us from the real mess they've made of our economy.

'Fritzi' is a tabloid journalist's wet dream come true !

Surbubia !you never know what's happening behind those walls.

It is a horrifying thing that someone can lock someone else up for 24 years. That is prison without a trial.

Not only that - the thought of no company and no air and no light.

It really is an awful thing to do to anyone.

The rape ( all 8,000 of them ) probably were the least of the problem after the first 100.........

Dreadful story.....and I can understand the others not wanting to give evidence.

When my stepdaughter gave evidence against her abuser she broke down and was hospitalised for 6 months afterwards and has never recovered since. The trial collapsed because she could not give evidence. In addition she is not strong enough to even contemplate a compensation claim.

In my experience real victims of real abuse dont want to relive the experiences in any way at all - and certainly not in public. They need healing and want to forget.

That is why I am always suspicous of "allegations" which hit the press first - 99 of 100 are likely to be false because that is not how genuinely abused people feel.

So on this I think you are seeing something that is not there JK. Sorry. I believe the case against this man - however much it has been sensationalised.

Innocent Accused wrote:
In many areas of the world incest is not illegal.In fact not even sure about the UK.Marriage of course is not an option,but the actual act?
So as said spice it up a lot,corrupt an old fool's image,then we have the perfect bogeyman to distract us from the real mess they've made of our economy.

you seem to be implying that this is a case of consensual incest- he is being tried for repeated rape of his daughter, forcing her to give birt to seven children over the years. even without the incarceration, to which he has pleaded guilty and has never denied in all the evidence he has given, the rape charges alone mean that, if found guilty, he should go away for a very long time.

There are other witnesses being called- a couple of structural engineers and a psychiatrist. In addition, one of her brothers have evidence today on video.

apologies for posting so soon after myself, but have just seen BR's post, and just wanted to say I agree totally with what he wrote.

I feel rather the same about this as I do about Harold Shipman - check out my track The True Story of Harold Shipman.

www.kingofhits.co.uk/content/view/780/47/

I'm sure he behaved very badly but I doubt the media are reporting it accurately. I bet it's been hugely exaggerated and inflated.

Police, lawyers, prosecutors, journos, editors, politicians, judges, photographers, PR people - all have a vested interest in making it seem as ghastly as possible.

BR wrote:
It is a horrifying thing that someone can lock someone else up for 24 years. That is prison without a trial.

Not only that - the thought of no company and no air and no light.

It really is an awful thing to do to anyone.

The rape ( all 8,000 of them ) probably were the least of the problem after the first 100.........

Dreadful story.....and I can understand the others not wanting to give evidence.

When my stepdaughter gave evidence against her abuser she broke down and was hospitalised for 6 months afterwards and has never recovered since. The trial collapsed because she could not give evidence. In addition she is not strong enough to even contemplate a compensation claim.

In my experience real victims of real abuse dont want to relive the experiences in any way at all - and certainly not in public. They need healing and want to forget.

That is why I am always suspicous of "allegations" which hit the press first - 99 of 100 are likely to be false because that is not how genuinely abused people feel.

So on this I think you are seeing something that is not there JK. Sorry. I believe the case against this man - however much it has been sensationalised.

Couldn't agree more.

I agree..I wouldn't trust the media to bring us an accurate account of anything.

I point again to the Jeremy Bamber case which sticks in my head for some reason,but I re-call the media accounts painted a picture of such a cold-blooded killer that I believed everything I read at the time-odd as I was working in PR feeding fibs to newspapers who would faithfully repeat them.

Even a matter like the alleged killer being adopted would be weaved into the tale..ungrateful etc.

And now a closer look at the facts and it seems he is most likely innocent.

The media cannot lose in these matters. They will never admit they were wrong and they get a double-dip at the story if it goes pear-shaped..as Hautte de la Geurre has shown us.

Odd place though Austria!. Gorgeous , beautiful scenery but people are so wary, uptight. Perhaps it's the history of the country.

The wife..with 3 new children appearing from the basement ???. The physical side to Fritzi may be the least bizarre..the thinking is really wierd !

"The Monster Unmasked" howls the tabloids this morning.

Meaning, of course, "how DARE you stupid readers not know this innocent man - on trial - did not commit these crimes? We, the media, assisted by the police, judge people. Fuck trials. Guilty unless he can prove his innocence, that's the new law of this jungle".


Fair enough. As long as we all realise what is going on.

After all, we don't know the facts. We are not in court.

WE read the papers and watch TV. Of course we're well informed.

Breaking news - Fritzl pleads guilty to all charges.

I'll tell you what this means - I've been in prison; I've met people... (listen to my lyric Plead Guilty)...

It means "I can't take any more".

It means "you know what; I'm going to die in prison; I feel like a hounded, wounded animal; the public have already decided, thanks to the meejah, so why bother? I cannot stand all this file-in-front-of-face stuff; I cannot stand any more public humiliation; screw the advice of my lawyers who only want the fame and money from a high profile case; let me go away and die please".

However you feel about Fritzl (and none of us know anything about him apart from the great story painted by the media) - it is sad to watch a human being get destroyed by our fascination.

He's 71. I figure he knows he's caught up in the whole saga for what years he has left and decided on avoiding a trial for a few peaceful years in jail.

The murder charge sounded a bit dodgy and he was originally going to plead 'not guilty' to it but guilty to the incest charges.

So we will never hear his side.

I find some things very odd..like the daughter living in a basement her whole life and never going outside ?. I don't deny whatever he did sounds horrendous but how will we ever know the full truth ?

I think you are right about his change in plea JK. But I still think to lock up someone for 24 years is appalling.

Freedom is vital for a person's self worth and self respect. Prison without trial has to be the greatest abuse on anyone. Worse than any physical or sexual because the mind is more powerful than any physical or sexual abuse.

To be locked up in the dark underground is an unbearable thought - just close your eyes and imagine it......for 24 years.....never knowing whether you would ever see anyone again sometimes.

This is the most horrific crime of the last 100 years. Why does everyone assume that the press are lying. Who the hell did lock up the girl, if he didn't? Do they think they she just chose not to go out for 24 years.

I'm pretty liberal minded, but this guy is just beyond evil, forcing his daughter to have 7 children with him, killing one and making half of them live underground. If this was a horror film, it would be considered too far fetched. Perhaps a lot of people here don't beleive that the holocaust happened either.

I simply don't believe in the over colours and shock and outrage of the media Robbie.

On the surface it looks like a terrible crime. But I'll bet the reality is very different indeed.

So - my verdict on the verdict (inevitable given the guilty plea - which may or may not be true)...

and the sentence...

Fair enough though I'm rapidly feeling nobody ought to be locked up forever. At least give them reason to hope and work for light at the end of the tunnel.

Did he deserve it? I cannot say. I know none of the facts. I don't believe the media. I cannot assess behind the blur of A GOOD STORY. I will not judge - and never have judged - from tabloid headlines.

Just watch the media coverage - monster, rat infested, appalling, dreadful... the bigger the words, the better the story. True? Possibly not - but it's a better story.

Who cares? Exactly - it's only fun titillation.

But when it affects the sentence, the punishment, the life and so on, the colouring up can be lethal, dangerous and unfair.

I have no problem with those of us who enjoy hearing the misery of others (poor Jade) but I do have a problem when something merely intended as entertainment - and circulation/ratings boosting - becomes considered fact and controls the way individuals get treated.

I met enough murderers doing life for hitting their wives and accidentally killing them who were painted as sadistic monsters and are locked away forever with no hope for them and at huge cost to us.

Titillation becomes evil when it detracts from money better spent on hospitals and schools and safety.

Quite apart from the rather nasty element of encouraging our darkest thrills and most unpleasant gratification.

Wallowing in pleasure provoked by the unfortunate pain of others is pretty seedy I reckon.