Could Josef Fritzl walk free? A new report suggests he's no longer a threat

The corroboration of this decision came from a forensic psychiatric expert at the University of Linz in Austria. The preparation of this document took one year. The report states that Austria's most notorious prisoner won't pose a criminal danger when liberated. Fritzl's physical limitations also include a reliance on a particular walker.

My aim is to acquire conditional release for him. If the application is granted, which I expect it will be, my next goal would be to secure him a spot in a nursing home, - commented lawyer Astrid Wagner to "Kronen Zeitung".

Josef Fritzl was convicted of crimes against his daughter, Elisabeth. She disappeared in 1984, following her declaration to her parents that she intended to live with her boyfriend. At that moment, she was just 18 years old. Weeks after the event, her mother, Rosemarie, received a letter.

In the letter, Elisabeth claimed that she had left the family to join a cult and did not wish to be found.

In the subsequent years, there have been numerous claims that Elisabeth made contact with her family and even left her children at their doorstep. In the letters, Elisabeth maintained that she was still with the cult and unable to support her growing family financially. None of these supposed attempts at contact were reported to the police.

After 24 years, Josef returned Elisabeth and another three of her children to his home. He announced to his entire family about rescuing Elisabeth from a harmful cult. Yet, on the same day, their family discovered the truth. The cult story was a fabricated lie, and Elisabeth was never missing. For almost a quarter-century, she existed beside her family - in a cramped, soundproof basement built by her father.

The police swiftly uncovered the actual sequence of events. During the early 80s, Josef Fritzl built a basement fortified by thick concrete walls underneath his home. His initial intent, it seemed, was to incarcerate someone within it. When he learned that his daughter had plans to move out, he drugged her with chloroform and confined her in the prepared room. For the subsequent 24 years, he incessantly raped Elisabeth.

During this period, Elisabeth became pregnant seven times. She suffered one miscarriage, three of her children remained with her in the basement, and three were raised in Fritzl's house. Josef claimed always to have desired a large family and expressed joy at every child born of his daughter. While standing before the court, he described their life in the concrete basement as "normal".

Josef Fritzl was sentenced to life imprisonment for kidnapping and holding his daughter hostage, forcing her into servitude, raping, and committing incest with her. Merely two years into his sentence, he submitted pleas for early parole, asserting that he had atoned for his sins. The most recent appeal, lodged in the year 2022, was rejected.