;)
The Fritzl Drama Continues
Friday, January 30, 2009 at 4:01AM 
Josef Fritzl, 74, is in jail. He belongs there. He is the monster that kidnapped his own daughter, Elisabeth, imprisoned her for 24 years and raped her continuously resulting in 7 children --- six of whom are still alive. The five part video documentary - "The Josef Fritzl Story" - shines a light on the dark side of human nature and gives us a peek into the world of a truly evil person. For more about Josef Fritzl and family find all the posts here: The Josef Fritzl Page.
His trial date has been set for March 16, 2009 in St. Poelten, Austria where he is currently being held in jail. According to Franz Cutka, deputy head of Sankt Poelten criminal court, the initial proceedings will be open to the public and media but later access will depend on further developments in the case, he added. Fritzl has been charged with murder, rape, sequestration, incest, grievous assault and slavery. If convicted, he could face life in prison.
Previous problems in getting a jury together seem to have been overcome. According to Austrian law, the jury consists of eight members, with two substitutes. Thirty police officers and prison warders will be on duty to keep order in what is regarded as the most shocking crime in modern Austrian history. Over 250 media representatives have requested permission to attend the trial.
Meanwhile, Josef Fritzl has been making some news for himself. He has announced that he has converted to Buddhism. According to reports he spends most of the 23 hours a day in his cell studying the peaceful Far Eastern philosophy.
Speaking through his lawyer Rudolf Mayer, Fritzl said that he has found a lot of comfort in reading Buddhist literature and finds the religion "fascinating". Fritzl first discovered Buddhism on a family holiday in Thailand but has only started studying the religion in depth while behind bars.
He hopes to be reincarnated as a decent person in his next life if he can help stop other weirdos copying his crimes. As if to reinforce that notion, Fritzl has invited criminal psychologists to study his warped mind. He wants experts to quiz him to work out the root of his evil. Fritzl told his lawyer: "They should look at what makes me tick and learn from it to stop anything like this happening again. "
Fritzl said: "I realize now that I am not normal, and I see that somebody who did what I did cannot be regarded as normal. With the help of therapists I want to know what the real reasons are for why I behaved like I did and I want to get treatment, I want to be healthy again at some point."
‘I am aware I will spend a very long time in prison. I would like to be examined by as many profilers, psychologists and psychiatrists as possible, preferably the most renowned in the world. They should look into the deepest depths of my soul and learn from it for future cases.’
Professor Reinhardt Haller, an Austrian forensic psychiatrist mentioned by Fritzl, said:
‘It would be in the service of science to examine this unique case as thoroughly as possible. From the point of view of both medicine and criminology his personality is most certainly worth examining.’
Reader Comments (6)
Sick bastard seems to be enjoying his fame by wanting to be thoroughly examined by "as many profilers, psychologists and psychiatrists as possible, preferably the most renowned in the world." He doesn't appear ashamed or remorseful IMO.
I've been following this case since the beginning, and I appreciate your updates. This case is absolutely heart breaking on every level. As far as Josef Fritzl's comments about being studied -- I hope they shut him down cold. He is just a narcissistic, evil man, and I hope they don't cater to his need for publicity. I'd like for him to be thrown into the harshest part of the prison so he can be a sex slave for the other inmates....with no hope of a reprieve. It's such an injustice that he will never fully know the pain he has caused.
Victoria, Thanks for your kind words. I have tried to keep up with the relevant issues concerning this case. I agree with you that all Josef Fritzl is looking for is attention. The only attention he deserves is when he is found guilty on all charges and is sentenced to life in prison. After all the publicity that the trial is bound to generate he will have his moment of notoriety and then they should lock him away in solitary confinement, with no access to the outside world, until the day he dies - alone and lonely.
Shaun
I'm fascinated by Josef Fritzl, I believe that he should be studied, I'm very fascinated by others such as Fred west too. What these people did is very bad but should we not study them to find out why they did it? I think people want explanations, "lock him up and throw away the key" is your anger speaking. If your partner cheated on you, wouldn't you want to know why?
We as people are hypocrites, we all love a good story and yet we sit there and judge, have you seen the numbers of books being sold about the stories of victims and serial killers etc..?
Surely by the very fact that this forum exists, you yourselves are giving him attention and drawing attention to him. Oh and by the way.....Shadmia, we all die alone.
Really.
I hope Buddha will see Fritzl-father's dust soon.
to nish rana, no we do not need to study evil joe . we study the holocaus and evil people still deny it happened. he needs to repent!!!!!! he also needs to be punished!!!!! no exposure for nazi bastards, because that is what all childabusers are!!!