Elisabeth Fritzl: All you need to know about The Girl In The Basement story
How much do you know about Elisabeth Fritzl? The Girl In The Basement story emerged in 2008 when Elisabeth recorder a statement at an Amstetten police station in Austria. Her father imprisoned, raped, and tortured her in the basement for 24 years. Josef Fritzl also fathered her seven children, but one died. Here is everything you'd want to know about the Basement Girl.
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The Austrian serial rapist is now serving a life sentence in Austria's Krems-Stein prison for mentally ill convicts. Did Josef Fritzl's wife know what was going on? Rosemarie claimed she never knew what was happening in her home's soundproof basement and that her husband fathered Elisabeth's children.
Elisabeth Fritzl's profile summary
- Full name: Elisabeth Fritzl
- Date of birth: 6th April 1966
- Age: 55 years in 2021
- Place of birth: Amstetten District in Austria, Europe
- Residence: Village X in Austria, Europe
- Nationality: Austrian
- Ethnicity: White
- Marital status: Married
- Spouse: Thomas Wagner
- Children: 7
- Parents: Rosemarie and Josef Fritzl
- Siblings: 6
- Josef's conviction(s): Rape, murder by negligence, and other charges
- Josef's criminal penalty: Life imprisonment
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Elisabeth Fritzl’s biography
How old is Elisabeth Fritzl now? Since she was born on 6th April 1966, Elisabeth Fritzl's current age is 55 years. Her father began abusing her in 1977 at age 11. She landed a waitress job at age 15 after completing her compulsory education.
Source: Facebook
Elisabeth's family pics were worth £300,000 to £260,000 at that time. Hence, the segment was organized to protect them from photographers and media houses. Also, her daughter (Kerstin) was still in a coma at the Amstetten Mauer hospital.
Seventeen photographers were caught trying to get into Kerstin's ward, one fell from the hospital's rooftop, and police used sniffer dogs to detect cameras hidden in trees.
Elisabeth Fritzl's story
Josef Fritzl (born 9th April 1935) married Rosemarie (born 23rd September 1939) in 1956. The couple had three sons and four daughters. Elisabeth fled to Vienna with a colleague in 1983, but the cops returned her home.
She completed the waitress course and got a job in Linz in mid-1984. On 28th August 1984, Josef asked his 18-year-old daughter to help him refit the basement door. He then made her unconscious using a towel soaked in ether and told his wife that she had fled to join a cult.
Source: Facebook
The man forced Elisabeth to write letters to Rosemarie, begging her to raise her three children (Lisa, Monica, and Alexander). Also, Josef lied to the neighbors that his daughter abandoned the children at their doorstep to protect them from the cult.
He never allowed Rosemarie to go to the basement, where Elisabeth raised the other three children (Kerstin, Stefan, and Felix). She escaped from the basement on 26th April 2008 at age 42 when her oldest child, Kerstin, fell ill.
The infamous rapist agreed to take the girl to the hospital. Fortunately, the medical staff reported him to the police after Elisabeth told them her story. As a result, the court changed her identity throughout the trial. She still keeps the new identity to prevent the public from recognizing her.
How did Elisabeth Fritzl give birth?
Josef gave her a tattered pregnancy book, which enabled her to give birth in the rat-infested dungeon. Sadly, he never helped her when delivering four of their seven children. Also, the man did not visit her for ten days after her first child was born.
Source: Getty Images
Michael fell sick shortly after birth and died three days later because her serial rapist did not provide medication. However, he allegedly incinerated the baby's corpse. These are Elisabeth Fritzl's children from oldest to youngest:
- Kerstin - 30th August 1988
- Stefan - 1st February 1990
- Lisa - 29th August 1992
- Monika - 26th February 1994
- Alexander and Michael - 28th April 1996
- Felix - 16th December 2002
Why did Josef Fritzl choose Elisabeth?
The monster sent a hand-written confession to an Austrian magazine through his lawyer. He admitted to not using contraception while raping his daughter over 3,000 times, for he wanted a family (a good wife and children) down in the cellar.
She would cook dinner while Josef and the kids watched adventure films, then eat as a family. The man claimed growing up during the Nazi regime destroyed his mental health. He began lusting after his mother after their family fell apart.
Source: Facebook
The depraved rapist described his estranged father as a womanizer and worthless scoundrel. He later quit coveting his mother but could not stop thirsting for his daughter since she was different from her siblings.
Miss Fritzl was rebellious and resembled his mother. She drank alcohol, spent nights outside, and even fled from home twice. Therefore, Josef drugged and imprisoned her as a disciplinary measure.
The Austrian serial rapist begged for his family's support after being imprisoned in 2009. He requested Rosemarie not to divorce him and often called and sent letters to Elisabeth. In 2012, the man divorced his wife for not visiting him in prison.
Where is Rosemarie Fritzl now?
Rosemarie fled her Austria home when Elisabeth Fritzl's basement scandal broke out. Although the police cleared her in 2011, the public believes she contributed to her daughter's pain.
Source: Twitter
The Austrian serial rapist's ex-wife (82 years old) sells handbags and paper flowers. She was taken into care and receives a small pension. Although Rosemarie visited her grandchildren once a week in 2013, her relationship with the rest of the family is still tense.
Elisabeth Fritzl's husband
Where is Elisabeth Fritzl now? Fritzl and Thomas Wagner fell in love when A&T securities assigned him to protect her family. She felt safe around her bodyguard and allowed him to move in with them in 2018. Meanwhile, his wife got a £54,000 child allowance from the state.
Are Elisabeth Fritzl and Thomas Wagner still a couple? The happily married couple lives in a tiny hamlet in Austria's countryside with Elisabeth's children. Village X's residents also support and protect her. Wagner is 23 years younger than his wife.
Source: Getty Images
Watch Elisabeth Fritzl's story in The Longest Night: Secrets of the Austrian Cellar (2008) and Monster: The Josef Fritzl Story (2010) documentaries. Alternatively, read The Crimes of Josef Fritzl: Uncovering the Truth (2009) book or watch Lifetime's 2021 Girl in the Basement movie.
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