Austrian man holds daughter captive for 24 years
Three children freed from a cellar in which their mother had been imprisoned and raped by her own father for 24 years had never seen daylight, police in Austria have confirmed.
Police spokesman Franz Polzer said that the 73-year-old man, known as Josef., admitted holding his daughter, Elisabeth F., 42, hostage in the windowless cell and fathering seven children by her. He has been put in ‘protective custody.’ "The mother had memories (of the outside world) and got used to the situation," Polzer said. "The others knew nothing else."
Josef explained Elisabeth’s disappearance by saying she had run away from home, a story backed up by letters he forced Elisabeth to write, including one that begged her parents not to look for her. The authorities have revealed that the prison, constructed in the basement of the 1960s building, ran underneath both the building itself and the garden outside. The entrance was via a small door, hidden behind cupboards in the basement, controlled by an electronic keyless-entry system.
"Even though they shouted and called they were not in a position to let anyone hear them," Polzer said.
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