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Josef Fritzl, an Austrian man who held his daughter captive as a sex slave in his basement for 24 years and used it to father seven of her children, was seen grinning on Thursday after a court ruled that he should be transferred from a psychiatric ward to a regular prison could be relocated.
Fritzl's move to a regular prison reportedly marks the first step in his parole application. Under Austrian law, prisoners sentenced to life in prison can apply for parole after serving 15 years, which Fritzl will begin in March, since he was first convicted in 2009.
“In summary, the court has concluded that he is in fact no longer dangerous,” Fritzl's lawyer Astrid Wagner told The Associated Press.
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Fritzl reportedly suffers from dementia and a psychiatric evaluation concluded that he would not pose a future threat to the public. Thursday's court decision overturned a 2022 ruling that rejected Fritzl's request to be transferred to a regular prison.
Sex offender who imprisoned his daughter for 24 years and fathered seven of her children can be released
Josef Fritzl is transported from the court in Krems, Austria, on Thursday, January 25, 2024. Fritzl was sentenced to life in prison for crimes related to the rape and enslavement of his own daughter in the basement of a house, but has now won his own trial to be transferred to a regular prison, paving the way for his future release. (News Licensing/Mega)
As the “Monster of Amstetten”, Fritzl kidnapped his own 18-year-old daughter Elisabeth in 1984 and locked her in a soundproof basement of their home in Amstetten, where he fathered seven of her children over more than two decades.
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She was found in the windowless basement in 2008 after 24 years of captivity and brutal abuse. According to Austrian authorities, Elisabeth's mother apparently had no idea about her daughter's imprisonment in her own home.
Josef Fritzl, who raped his daughter and held her captive for 24 years, could be moved to a regular prison
Josef Fritzl is transported from the court in Krems, Austria, on Thursday, January 25, 2024. Fritzl was sentenced to life in prison for crimes related to the rape and enslavement of his own daughter in the basement of a home. (News Licensing/Mega)
When asked about her whereabouts, Fritzl is said to have replied that she had run away. In 2008, Fritzl was charged by authorities with incest, rape, coercion, false imprisonment, enslavement and involuntary manslaughter after he killed one of the sons he had fathered with his captive daughter shortly after the child's birth.
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The court agreed to place Fritzl in a regular prison on the condition that he undergoes psychotherapy and psychiatric examinations during a 10-year probation period, the Austria Press Agency reported.
Cellar to be filled with cement in which Josef Fritzl kept his daughter and fathered her children
Josef Fritzl, who locked his daughter in a basement for over 24 years and fathered seven children with her, is escorted back to prison after his hearing at the regional court in Krems an der Donau, Austria, on January 25, 2024. The Reginal court in Krems, around 80 kilometers northwest of Vienna, has granted Fritzl's application to be transferred from the prison for the mentally ill, where he is currently located, to a regular correctional facility. Fritzl, now 88, was sentenced to life in prison in 2009 for murdering a newborn baby he had fathered with his daughter Elisabeth while holding her in the purpose-built basement of his home. (Joe Klamar/AFP via Getty Images)
Fritzl's lawyer said his client was “close to tears” at Thursday's hearing.
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AUSTRIAN 'HORROR DAD' JOSEF FRITZL'S DAUGHTER REPORTEDLY WAKES UP FROM COMA
“He said he was incredibly sorry for his victims and that he would like to undo everything he did,” Wagner said.
Building materials are in the garden of the house of Josef Fritzl, who held his daughter prisoner for 24 years and fathered seven children in the basement, in the village of Amstetten. (Portal/Leonhard Foeger)
In a 2009 statement, the St. Pölten state prosecutor's office said Fritzl “forced Elisabeth into slave-like conditions… locked her in the basement and made her completely dependent on him, forced her to perform sexual acts and mistreated her.” as if she were his property,” according to Portal.
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Prosecutors also alleged that Fritzl threatened to kill Elisabeth and gas her children.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.