In August of 1984 in Amstetten, Austria, Josef Fritzl asked his daughter, Elizabeth, for help installing a new door to their family home’s newly-renovated basement. Josef Fritzl, Elisabeth’s father, forced Elisabeth to turn away and placed an ether-soaked cloth around her mouth until she lost consciousness. From the tender age 18, she was imprisoned in that basement for 24 years. Elisabeth suffered unimaginable horrors in captivity at her father’s hands. Now, in 2022, fourteen years after her escape from prison, Elisabeth Fritzl is still there.
A Quick Review of Her Horrifying Capture
Elisabeth Fritzl was reported missing on August 28, 1984. Rosemarie Fritzl, her mother, filed an immediate missing-persons report. Elisabeth wasn’t seen or heard from for weeks until a letter arrived. Elisabeth stated in the letter that she was tired living at home and had fled. Her father, Josef, told police that she’d previously mentioned an interest in joining a religious cult. He said that this was his best guess as to where she’d gone. Josef knew a lot more about her location than he admitted. He was actually the one who wrote the letter, purportedly from Elisabeth. He kept her locked up in his basement.
For the first two days of Elisabeth’s captivity, she was unable to move, bound by an iron chain. Josef began sexually assaulting Elisabeth the second day. This abuse continued for the next two decades. As a result, Elisabeth bore seven of her father’s children. Josef threw one of the children away shortly after his birth. baby’s body in the incinerator.
Three of Elisabeth’s children remained in captivity with her in the cellar, never seeing daylight until their release. The other three are listed below. Josef staged discoveries of the babies outside the houseIn the bushes or on your doorstep. He planted the babies with notes that he believed to have written by Elisabeth. They said that she couldn’t care for these children and that she wanted her parents to raise them for her. The children in the basement were afraid that the others would be left behind. the door was rigged to kill themThey may attempt to escape.
Josef managed to keep Elisabeth and the children’s location a secret for all those years. He wrote notes for Elisabeth that she could send to her mother. He claimed he was at work when he spent time down in the basement. He also blamed the basement for any noises that might have been made. soundproofed cellar on noisy heating and pipes.
How she finally got free
On April 26, 2008, Elisabeth was 42, she finally got her freedom. Kerstin, her 19-year-old daughter became very ill. Josef took the unusually kind decision to drive Kerstin into the hospital because of the terrible situation. Shortly after, Elisabeth and her two sons saw Kerstin’s doctors on the news imploring that her mother come forward with information if there was any hope of saving her life.
Elisabeth begged her father to let her leave and go to Kerstin’s side. Josef had already been looking for a way out of the horrible situation he’d created, growing old and tired of leading his harrowing double life. He accepted Elisabeth’s resignation. Once she made it to the hospital, she told police that she’d give them the full story as long as they promised to keep her father away from her.
In 2021 LifetimePremiered a film original based on Fritzl’s case, called Girl in the Basement.
Where Is Elisabeth Fritzl Now?
After Elisabeth’s release, Josef was immediately arrested. He is now at 86 and is in prison, where since 2009 he has been serving a sentence of life imprisonment.
Although Elisabeth is now in the 50s, her most recent photograph was taken when she was 16. Authorities have gone to great lengths to conceal Elisabeth’s identity from the public in hopes of giving her the most normal life possible after the horrors she endured. Since her release, she assumed a new identity and is now living in an Austrian community. “Village X” to keep its location hidden.
Elisabeth resides with her children, who now range in age from 19 to 33. Therapy has been used to help her children get over their traumas. They still sleep with their bedroom doors open.
The two-story home is surrounded by security guards and has CCTV surveillance. Although little information is available about her post-incarceration life, it was made public in 2019. reports claimed that Elisabeth and her bodyguard “found love.”
