Josef Fritzl's grim life after release - dementia, care home, 'sex drive' claim

25 January 2024 , 10:53

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Twisted father Josef Fritzl imprisoned his daughter for 24 years and had seven children with her (Image: Getty Images)

Incest monster Josef Fritzl was jailed for life in 2009 for trapping his daughter in a sex dungeon and fathering seven children with her over two decades.

The 88-year-old convicted rapist has been granted conditional release from a prison for the mentally ill following appeal. It comes after he was allegedly seen visiting local cafes near Stein Prison in Krems an der Donau, Austria. Fritzl is set to be moved to a regular prison before he is eligible for release in March - though the decision is not yet legally binding.

Fritzl kept his daughter Elisabeth as his sex slave, locked in the cellar of his house of horrors in Amstetten in Lower Austria State, from the age of 18 to 42. It wasn't until he took one of the children born to his daughter to hospital due to a life-threatening illness that his heinous crimes were discovered and she was able to escape.

The basement of Fritzl's family home, where he kept his children locked away (MDM)

The pensioner is eligible for parole in March of this year under Austria's lenient sentencing laws, and may live in a care home until he dies. Those who have been given a life sentence in the country can apply for a conditional release after 15 years. Inmates who are judged ready for parole can be freed, depending on their conduct and mental and physical condition.

After the court hearing today, Fritzl's attorney, Astrid Wagner, said: "We were successful. It was a long hearing. He told again how he regrets what he did. He was actually close to tears. In summary, the court came to the conclusion that my client is actually no longer dangerous."

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Fritzl, who changed his name to Mayrhoff in an alleged attempt to evade physical attacks by other inmates, has reportedly applied for an early release several times in the past two years. His lawyer Wagner, who last year published a book based on a series of his letters, suggested that a new life in a care home is "within the bounds of possibility".

She said: "This man is almost 90 years old and his mental condition is deteriorating. He needs support and care." She explained that she is able to communicate normally with him most of the time apart from the "odd lapses", including a delusion that his daughter had married Boris Becker. "The next time I saw him, he told me they had broken up", she said.

Fritzl's daughter Elisabeth has since changed her name and has received support from the authorities in protecting her identity and the well-being of her children. One of them, who died at birth with breathing difficulties, was heartlessly tossed in a furnace by Fritzl. Three were brought up in the basement with their mother, and three others were brought up as foundlings by sick Fritzl and his wife Rosemarie.

Josef Fritzl was jailed for life in 2009 (Getty Images)

In an interview last year with The Sun, Fritzl said he hoped to see his family one day and wanted a reconciliation with his 84-year-old former wife. "I definitely believe that I am going to see them again one day," he said. "I do understand people who want me to die in jail. But I want to experience freedom one day."

Fritzl's wife Rosemarie reportedly fled the home she shared with Fritzl soon after the scandal broke, and now tries to supplement her meager pension by selling homemade bags and paintings of flowers. She has reportedly mended her relationship with Elisabeth and visits her grandchildren once a week.

Fritzl is now suffering from Alzheimer's disease and is said to be so frail that he now needs a walking frame to get around. In 2019, it was reported that Fritzl's health was declining rapidly and that he lives apart from the rest of the prison population. A fellow prisoner told local media: "Fritzl was and still is separated from everyone else. He has totally withdrawn himself and barely leaves his cell. He doesn't want contact with others, and all together it looks as though he has resigned himself to dying."

In a bizarre statement, Ms Wagner told German newspaper Bild: "Fritzl is completely harmless today. I wouldn't be afraid to move into a shared apartment with him or live in a home with him. He has no sex drive anymore. He barricades himself in his solitary cell, watches a lot of TV, grows tomatoes, writes about his life as an electrical engineer. He sunbathes through the bars, does gymnastics, cares a lot about his figure and wants to live to be 100."

Ms Wagner claims the depraved father 'regrets' what he did. She added: "He says he has nightmares and wakes up in the middle of the night. He's not a monster, he's still human. He committed terrible acts for years, became delirious, and says himself that he was overwhelmed by his sexual drive. But he regrets his actions - very sincerely in my opinion. Of course he often represses his great, great guilt, otherwise he wouldn't be able to continue living."

Nia Dalton