Elisabeth Fritzl is a 42-year-old Austrian women who was allegedly imprisoned, sexually abused and beaten by her father, Joseph Fritzl (73), since 1984. Austrian police allege he kept her hostage in a cellar beneath his house in a village near the town of Amstetten in Lower Austria. It is also alleged she gave birth to a total of seven children during this time.
Her father released her in April 2008 after her daughter Kerstin, who had fallen seriously ill, was left at a hospital and the local police launched a search for her missing mother. Josef Fritzl was arrested on suspicion of incest and holding his daughter captive. Police say he has not responded to the charges brought against him. One of the children allegedly died in infancy. Three children, 19-year-old Kerstin who was taken to hospital, Stefan aged 18 and Felix, 5 were apparently kept in the cellar with their mother while the other three, Lisa aged 15, Alexander, 12 and Monika, 14, Josef is said to have adopted these three after claiming his missing daughter had left them on his doorstep with notes asking him to care for them.
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