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An Austrian man charged with imprisoning his own daughter and raping her repeatedly for 24 years has pleaded guilty to all charges in the case. Josef Fritzl, 73, had entered a partial guilty plea earlier this week, denying charges of enslaving his daughter and murdering their newborn son. But Fritzl told the court in the city of Sankt Poelten Wednesday that watching 11 hours of his daughter's videotaped testimony caused a change in heart and he decided to acknowledge his guilt on all charges. Prosecutors say Fritzl locked his daughter, Elisabeth, in the cellar of his home starting in 1984...

Josef Fritzl was today facing the prospect of dying in prison after he dramatically pleaded guilty to all the charges against him, including the murder of his own son. His change of heart was prompted by his daughter's harrowing evidence of how she was held captive for 24 years, repeatedly raped and had seven of her father's children. The 73-year-old told a stunned court in St Poelten, Austria, this morning that he now admitted all the charges, including murder and slavery. Asked why he had changed his plea, Fritzl told the panel of judges: 'When I saw the video tapes...

»Elisabeth Fritzl Begins Testimony Elisabeth Fritzl , 42, who was imprisoned for 24 years by her father, Josef Fritzl, and bore him 7 children; has been given medical clearance to begin testifying about her ordeal. She has already begun to answer questions and will continue to do so in the coming week. Elisabeth has said that she never wants to see her father ever again… not even at trial. So in order to accommodate her wishes, all of her testimony is being videotaped so that she will not be forced to confront him in court. The trial of Josef...

Josef Fritzl's daughter Kerstin miraculously wakes from coma 27/05/2008 Dungeon monster Josef Fritzl's daughter of 19 miraculously woke from her coma yesterday. Medics feared Kerstin - born to Fritzl and his daughter Elisabeth during her 24-year incestuous captivity - would die when her organs failed earlier this month. But she showed flickers of life over the weekend and yesterday the family were overjoyed to hear she had opened her eyes. A source close to the victims in their psychiatric clinic said: "In a world that was very dark, the Fritzls now have light. "Elisabeth and family are very happy,...

BUENOS AIRES: A 73-year-old Argentine man who fathered two children with a young daughter he kept as his sexual prisoner will serve 16 years in prison himself. Prosecuting Attorney Sergio Antin said the case of Eleuterio Soria had similarities to that of Josef Fritzl, the Austrian man arrested last month for locking his daughter in a basement for 24 years. "If we're talking about sexual subjugation, and we take into account that the victim did not leave the house, yes, there are similarities" to the Fritzl case, government prosecutor Sergio Antin said after Soria was sentenced on Tuesday. Soria's trial...

Fritzl's incest kids give thanks Friday, May 16, 2008 The Sun By STAFF REPORTER THIS poster is a public show of thanks to the people of Amstetten in Austria created by the children who were locked in evil Fritzl's dungeon lair. The youngsters wanted to thank locals for their public shows of support since they were rescued from the cellar along with their mother - Fritzl's daughter - Elisabeth last month. The main picture shows 18-year-old Stefan's palm prints and a message saying that he misses his sister Kerstin, 19, and that he is happy about his new-found "freedom...

Austria to change sex crime law The Amstetten case has raised questions about Austria's police Austria's chancellor has said the country will adopt tougher laws on sex crimes following the case of a man who imprisoned his daughter for 24 years. Josef Fritzl has admitted holding his daughter captive in the cellar of the family home, repeatedly raping her. He fathered seven children with her, three of whom officials allowed Mr Fritzl to either adopt or foster. Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer said the new measures would aim to prevent children becoming victims of abuse. "In the question of violence against children,...

The Austrian children kept in a cellar for their entire lives speak their own language using animalistic noises rather than words. Stefan Fritzl, 18, and his brother Felix, five, learned to talk by watching a television in the dungeon where they were held with their mother Elisabeth Fritzl, 42. But their form of communciation is only partly intelligible to Austrian police officers. Police chief Leopold Etz, 50, who has met the two boys, said: “It is only half true that they can speak. They communicate with noises that are a mixture of growling and cooing. “If they want to say...

AMSTETTEN, Austria - A man has confessed to imprisoning his daughter for 24 years in a windowless cell with a soundproofed door and fathering seven children with her including three who "never saw sunlight," police said Monday. Josef Fritzl, now 73, also told investigators that he tossed the body of one of the children in an incinerator when the infant died shortly after birth, said Franz Polzer, head of the Lower Austrian Bureau of Criminal Affairs. "We are being confronted with an unfathomable crime," Interior Minister Guenther Platter said. The daughter, who is now 42, had been missing since 1984...

The children who were imprisoned in a cellar with their mother for their whole lives speak to each other in growls, it emerged today. They speak normally to strangers - despite not having a wide vocabulary - but communicate in animal-like noises when alone together. Austrian police chief Leopold Etz, 50, said: "When the media write that the children speak, this is just half-true. Among each other, they communicate with noises that are a mixture of growling and cooing. Scroll down for more... Astonishing: Elisabeth pictured before she disappeared and her mother, Rosemarie Read more... Father used a government grant...

Austria cellar probe 'oppressive' Mr Fritzl refuses to explain his actions Forensic work in the dungeon where an Austrian man allegedly held his daughter for 24 years is "oppressive", police chief Franz Polzer has said. Officers wearing special masks can only work one hour at a time because of the lack of oxygen in the windowless cellar, he told AP news agency. Police say Josef Fritzl, 73, imprisoned and raped his daughter Elisabeth in the cellar in Amstetten in Lower Austria. They say she bore his seven children - three of whom never saw daylight. Mr Fritzl, who is in...

Austria cellar man 'mentally ill' Mr Fritzl claimed his daughter ran away to join a cult Josef Fritzl, the Austrian man accused of abusing his imprisoned daughter for 24 years, should not go to jail as he is mentally ill, his lawyer says. Rudolf Mayer says his client should be in a psychiatric unit rather than facing a trial, which will not be fair because of press coverage of the case. Police say Mr Fritzl, 73, incarcerated and raped his daughter Elisabeth in his cellar in Amstetten in Lower Austria. A relative of Mr Fritzl says he was convicted of...

A chronology of the events that led to the discovery that Josef Fritzl, 73, had locked up his daughter in an cellar dungeon for 24 years and fathered her seven children, based on police statements: _ April 19: Fritzl brings a 19-year-old woman to the intensive ward of the Provincial Clinic, in the lower Austrian town of Amstetten. He tells staff that the woman, Kerstin, is his granddaughter and that he found her in front of his door, left there by his daughter who disappeared decades ago to join a sect. _ April 22: Lower Austrian police ask for DNA...

The evil father who locked up his daughter in a cellar for 24 years and fathered her seven children was pictured on a 'boys holiday' to Thailand in the 1990s, it has been revealed. Josep Friztl is believed to have stockpiled food in the dungeon where Elisabeth and her three children were being held. The four were expected to survive alone for up to two weeks until Fritzl returned. Snaps of the electrical engineer enjoying himself were made public for the first time today. They come as it was revealed that Fritzl has told police he acted alone. He has...