Josef Fritzl pictured during his 2009 trial in St. Poelten, Austria. Photo / Getty.
Josef Fritzl pictured during his 2009 trial in St. Poelten, Austria. Photo / Getty.
Evil rapist Josef Fritzl still believes he will 'go free' from prison despite being jailed for life for horrific crimes against his daughter, according to a journalist who has been following his case for years.
Police released photos of Fritzl's basement, a concealed network of tiny windowless chambers. Elisabeth had been sealed in when she was 18 and her mother reported her missing. Photo / Getty.
In a new Channel 5 documentary, Mark Perry, who has remained in touch with Fritzl'ssolicitor, reveals the Austrian has dreams of carrying on with his normal life, writes the Daily Mail.
Perry first broke the story of the 'house of horrors' in 2008, when it was discovered that Fritzl, now 82, had imprisoned his daughter Elisabeth, now 51, as his sex slave for 24 years and fathered seven of her children.
"Fritzl is still in prison of course, and he still dreams of coming free," says Perry, appearing on Fritzl: What Happened Next.
"That's what the solicitor told me. He still thinks he'll come free one day, go fishing and, and carry on with life."
Perry observed: 'His eyes were cold and piercing. No remorse, no compassion, for anyone on earth but himself. No tears. Nothing' Photo / Getty
British-born Perry, who has lived in Austria for 50 years, works for the biggest national newspaper the Kronen Zeitung, and first met Fritzl when he told police that Elisabeth had run off to join a sect aged 18.
The second time Perry came face-to-face with Fritzl was 24 years later when it emerged that he had kept his daughter in a windowless basement cellar he had specially constructed and repeatedly raped and abused her.
"She must be a brave woman, a strong woman. I think she lived for her own children," Perry says. 'That's what kept her and let her not surrender. I think that was the thing."
Immediately before Fritzl's trial began, Perry explained how the man appeared: 'His eyes were cold and piercing. No remorse, no compassion, for anyone on earth but himself. No tears. Nothing.
"It was normal procedure. Just like he was going to the doctors or somewhere else... No remorse. No compassion for his daughter. No compassion for his grandchildren who of course, his own children."
Fritzl fathered all seven of Elisabeth's children and kept three of them with him and his wife Rosemarie, who was oblivious to what lay beneath her home.
She thought the three children had been abandoned by Elisabeth after Fritzl convinced her that their daughter had ran away and the evil rapist masqueraded as the children's grandfather.
It was the critical illness of Elisabeth's 19-year-old incest daughter Kerstin in April 2008 which finally heralded the end of the secret cellar and its inhabitants.
Under pressure from a terrified Elisabeth, who warned that Kerstin would die unless she received medical attention, Fritzl took her to hospital, bringing the gruesome story to light and attracting massive media interest.
Fritzl was found guilty in 2009 of murder over the death of one of Elisabeth's babies, as well as incest, sequestration and 3,000 counts of rape. He was jailed for life.
The most recent reports about Elisabeth say she lives with her six surviving children at a secret location in Austria, and she has never spoken publicly about her ordeal.
Perry adds: "The best solution, I think, is leave them in peace. Let the little children who, who will be grown up now - actually, teenagers - let them live their life in peace.
"[The] big impact of course on their little souls and hopefully they'll grow up to live a life as normal human beings and put their granddad behind them.
"Perhaps visit him, perhaps being told once later in life... but of course I don't think Fritzl will live to see them."
1977: Josef Fritzl began abusing his 11-year-old daughter Elisabeth
1984: Elisabeth, aged 18, was lured into the basement of the family home by her father.
1984-2008: Elisabeth was raped 3,000 times over 24 years. She gave birth to seven children Kerstin, Stefan, Lisa, Monika, twins Michael (who died and was cremated by Fritzl) and Alexander, and Felix.
April 2008: Kerstin falls seriously ill and Fritzl arranges for her to be taken to the hospital.
April 2008: Elisabeth's story emerges after an anonymous report to the police, when she reappears in her family home, and Fritzl is taken into custody.
March 2009: After a four-day trial Fritzl is found guilty of murder over the death of one of Elisabeth's babies, as well as incest, sequestration and 3,000 counts of rape. After the trial Elisabeth and her six surviving children were placed in a secret Austrian location
