statute of limitations. the austrian statute requires that criminal convictions be removed from all records after ten years. thus, erasing fritzl s criminal past. as a result, josef fritzl presented himself to the outside world as a strong family man in a devoutly catholic country. his favorite daughter, elisabeth, was the fourth child of seven from his marriage to rosemarie. there were five girls and two boys, with a father ruling the roost. translator: i did hear talk amongst the neighbors that herr fritzl was very firm with his children and that absolute obedience to herr fritzl prevailed. his wife, too, was very submissive towards him. we all knew it. he was very domineering with his family. according to classmates, elisabeth found the atmosphere at home oppressive, causing her to run away. translator: i did get the impression, though, that she felt more comfortable at school
suddenly gained a small space of 30 to 35 square meters, without anyone noticing. we re now proceeding on the assumption that he had already settled upon the plan to build his own personal reich as early as 1978 and to start a relationship with his pretty daughter elisabeth in the cellar. coming up, elisabeth fritzl goes missing and even her friends can t find her. translator: all of the sudden all contact ended and when i called, i was palmed off and i never heard from her again. when the longest night returns. you smarter about your insurance,because what you don t know can hurt you. what if you didn t know that taking pictures of your belongings helps when you have a claim? or that farmers offers a policy that will replace your car with a new one if it s totaled within the first two model years. and that parking near a street lamp deters thieves? the more you know,the better you can plan for what s ahead. talk to farmers and get smarter about your insurance. we are farmers
changing the law, but some wonder if there is something about the austrian psyche. translator: we tend to look the other way when a child gets a smack in the face rather than be brave and intervene and say, what on earth are you thinking? what are you doing? we respect privacy so much that we don t pick up the phone and call the police to send someone over. everyone is left to mind their own business. we have a saying in austria, don t get involved. meanwhile, elisabeth and her children from the cellar continue to suffer severe ailments due to the poor air and lack of sun or exercise or medical care stemming from their long, inhumane confinement. after several months in the hospital, kirsten has finally been released and reunited with her brothers and sisters. however, doctors say their
the hole has to be a little bigger for her. when the second baby arrived, the austrian press took note. mark perry covered the case for a local newspaper. 1994, the first story, just after christmas. the second time she put the baby in front of the door of her grandfather. how bad must she be? then mr. fritzl quoting here, our daughter vanishing since 1984. we think she s in the hands of some religious group. and, in fact, she was in his hands. even austrian social services bought in to fritzl s complex web of deception. translator: if, as people assumed and her father kept claiming, elisabeth was living with a sect, it wouldn t have been difficult at all for a member of the sect to give
translator: and a bit later on, i don t remember exactly when, he told us that a letter had arrived. the letter said that it was pointless to search for her because she was deeply involved with a sect and that she was so happy there that she was definitely not coming home. translator: we were a couple. we wrote to each other. we saw each other. all of a sudden all contact ended. when i called, i was palmed off. it was over. and i didn t hear from her again. elisabeth fritzl had simply vanished and no one seemed to think it unusual. coming up, elisabeth is forced to give up three of her children. translator: people said it was irresponsible. what a bad mother elisabeth was to leave the children on the door step. he already had seven children