skithebert
Active member
AMSTETTEN, Austria (CNN) -- Austrian police believe a
73-year-old man held his daughter captive in his cellar for the past
two decades and fathered at least six children with her, according to
police and state-run news reports Sunday.
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endclickprintexclude The woman,
identified as 42-year-old Elisabeth F., has been missing since 1984,
when she was 18 years old, police said at a news conference.
The
situation came to light earlier this month after her daughter -- a
19-year-old woman, identified as Kristen F. -- was hospitalized in
Amstetten after falling unconscious, according to police.
She
was admitted to a hospital in Amstetten, outside Vienna, by her
grandfather with a note from her biological mother requesting help.
Amstetten is a rural town about 150 km (93 miles) west of Vienna.
But police said a DNA test later revealed her grandfather, Josef F.,
was also her father, according to ORF, Austria's state-run news agency.
That sparked a police investigation, which revealed that Josef F. may
have fathered at least six children with his daughter, forcing her and
three of the surviving children to live in the cellar of his house,
according to ORF's Peter Schmitzberger.
The children are now between 5 and 19 years old.
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endclickprintexclude
Police are awaiting DNA tests to verify their relationship to Josef F.,
who faces arrest for "severe crimes against family members," according
to police. So far, he has not given a statement to police.
Police spokesman Franz Polzer told ORF that the 73-year-old has led
police to several hidden rooms in his cellar accessible only by an
electronic passcode that he provided to police.
On Sunday, police searched the hidden rooms where Josef F. admitted he
kept his daughter and their children, Polzer told ORF. The rooms
included sleeping quarters, a kitchen and a bathroom, which Josef F.
told police he built, Polzer said. Neighbors told ORF they were shocked
to hear the news, and had no indication such horrors were taking place
in their town.
"One can't imagine how it could happen, how
nobody could realize anything of what was going on in the cellar of
this house," Schmitzberger told CNN. "It's quite unimaginable."
Acting on "a confidential tip," Amstetten police apprehended Josef F.
and Elisabeth F. on Saturday near the hospital for questioning,
according to a police statement. Once police assured the daughter that
she would never have contact with her father again, "she was able to
tell the whole story," Schmitzberger said.
Josef F. lived
upstairs with his wife, Rosemarie F., who police said had no idea about
her husband's other family living in the cellar.
Josef F. and
Rosemarie F. had adopted three of the children that he had with his
daughter, according to police. He told his wife that his missing
daughter had dropped the unwanted children off at the house because she
could not take care of them, police said.
The other three
children -- Kerstin, 19; Stefan, 18; and Felix, 5 -- remained locked in
the basement with their mother, according to police. None had seen the
light of day during their entire time in captivity, police said.
After she was detained Saturday, Elisabeth F. gave police a
"psychologically and physically disturbed impression," police said in a
statement. She told them her story after she was assured her children
would be protected from further harm.
She said her father
began sexually abusing her at age 11. On August 8, 1984 -- weeks before
she was reported missing -- her father enticed her into the basement,
where he drugged her, put her in handcuffs and locked her in a room,
she told police. For the next 24 years, she was constantly raped by her
father, resulting in the six surviving children, she said, according to
the police statement.
She told police she gave birth to twins in
1996, but one of the babies died a few days later as a result of
neglect, and Josef F. removed the infant's body and burned it.
She told police that only her father supplied her and her children with
food and clothing, and that she did not think his wife knew anything
about their situation.
When Kerstin fell ill earlier this month,
Josef F. apparently told his wife and the hospital that his "missing"
daughter had dropped off the sick girl on his doorstep.
In an
effort to find out what might be ailing 19-year-old Kerstin, the
hospital asked the media to put out a bulletin requesting any
information about the girl or her missing mother, attorney general
Gerhard Sedlacek told NTV.
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Sometime later, Josef F. brought
Elisabeth F. out of the cellar, telling his wife that she had returned
home with her two children after a 24-year absence, police said. startclickprintexclude
endclickprintexclude
He took Elisabeth F. to the hospital to talk with doctors about
Kerstin's condition, and at that point, authorities became aware of her
situation, Sedlacek said.
73-year-old man held his daughter captive in his cellar for the past
two decades and fathered at least six children with her, according to
police and state-run news reports Sunday.
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endclickprintexclude The woman,
identified as 42-year-old Elisabeth F., has been missing since 1984,
when she was 18 years old, police said at a news conference.
The
situation came to light earlier this month after her daughter -- a
19-year-old woman, identified as Kristen F. -- was hospitalized in
Amstetten after falling unconscious, according to police.
She
was admitted to a hospital in Amstetten, outside Vienna, by her
grandfather with a note from her biological mother requesting help.
Amstetten is a rural town about 150 km (93 miles) west of Vienna.
But police said a DNA test later revealed her grandfather, Josef F.,
was also her father, according to ORF, Austria's state-run news agency.
That sparked a police investigation, which revealed that Josef F. may
have fathered at least six children with his daughter, forcing her and
three of the surviving children to live in the cellar of his house,
according to ORF's Peter Schmitzberger.
The children are now between 5 and 19 years old.
startclickprintexclude
endclickprintexclude
Police are awaiting DNA tests to verify their relationship to Josef F.,
who faces arrest for "severe crimes against family members," according
to police. So far, he has not given a statement to police.
Police spokesman Franz Polzer told ORF that the 73-year-old has led
police to several hidden rooms in his cellar accessible only by an
electronic passcode that he provided to police.
On Sunday, police searched the hidden rooms where Josef F. admitted he
kept his daughter and their children, Polzer told ORF. The rooms
included sleeping quarters, a kitchen and a bathroom, which Josef F.
told police he built, Polzer said. Neighbors told ORF they were shocked
to hear the news, and had no indication such horrors were taking place
in their town.
"One can't imagine how it could happen, how
nobody could realize anything of what was going on in the cellar of
this house," Schmitzberger told CNN. "It's quite unimaginable."
Acting on "a confidential tip," Amstetten police apprehended Josef F.
and Elisabeth F. on Saturday near the hospital for questioning,
according to a police statement. Once police assured the daughter that
she would never have contact with her father again, "she was able to
tell the whole story," Schmitzberger said.
Josef F. lived
upstairs with his wife, Rosemarie F., who police said had no idea about
her husband's other family living in the cellar.
Josef F. and
Rosemarie F. had adopted three of the children that he had with his
daughter, according to police. He told his wife that his missing
daughter had dropped the unwanted children off at the house because she
could not take care of them, police said.
The other three
children -- Kerstin, 19; Stefan, 18; and Felix, 5 -- remained locked in
the basement with their mother, according to police. None had seen the
light of day during their entire time in captivity, police said.
After she was detained Saturday, Elisabeth F. gave police a
"psychologically and physically disturbed impression," police said in a
statement. She told them her story after she was assured her children
would be protected from further harm.
She said her father
began sexually abusing her at age 11. On August 8, 1984 -- weeks before
she was reported missing -- her father enticed her into the basement,
where he drugged her, put her in handcuffs and locked her in a room,
she told police. For the next 24 years, she was constantly raped by her
father, resulting in the six surviving children, she said, according to
the police statement.
She told police she gave birth to twins in
1996, but one of the babies died a few days later as a result of
neglect, and Josef F. removed the infant's body and burned it.
She told police that only her father supplied her and her children with
food and clothing, and that she did not think his wife knew anything
about their situation.
When Kerstin fell ill earlier this month,
Josef F. apparently told his wife and the hospital that his "missing"
daughter had dropped off the sick girl on his doorstep.
In an
effort to find out what might be ailing 19-year-old Kerstin, the
hospital asked the media to put out a bulletin requesting any
information about the girl or her missing mother, attorney general
Gerhard Sedlacek told NTV.
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Sometime later, Josef F. brought
Elisabeth F. out of the cellar, telling his wife that she had returned
home with her two children after a 24-year absence, police said. startclickprintexclude
endclickprintexclude
He took Elisabeth F. to the hospital to talk with doctors about
Kerstin's condition, and at that point, authorities became aware of her
situation, Sedlacek said.
