Josef Fritzl, who fathered seven children with his daughter who he kept locked in a cellar for 24 years, said he will ‘definitely’ see his grandchildren again as he languishes in jail, according to a new interview.
Speaking on Tuesday, Fritzl, 87, said he expects to live until 130 – and is convinced that his grandchildren will see it in themselves to forgive him by then.
Fritzl pleaded guilty to all counts of rape, false imprisonment, manslaughter by negligence and incest in March 2009 after he was found to have kept his daughter, Elisabeth, in a basement underneath the family home from the age of 18.
The monster from Amstetten, Lower Austria, reportedly started abusing Elisabeth from the age of 11 and fathered seven children with her, with three remaining in captivity, three being raised by Fritzl and his wife and one sadly dying.
Fritzl is escorted to the fourth day of trial in the courthouse in St. Poelten on 19 March, 2009
Pictured: Josef Fritzl’s dungeon in Amstetten, Austria, 10 years after the crimes were revealed
Images show hidden rooms in the cellar underneath Josef Fritzl’s house in Austria
In the interview with The Sun, he detailed his fitness regime and told of how he had saluted King Charles and Queen Camilla during the Coronation on Saturday.
He said that he regretted his crimes and the hurt he had caused, adding that he ‘would never ever do anything like that again’.
In the interview, Fritzl – who is understood to be suffering from dementia – claimed to have reformed after undergoing therapy inside.
Last month it was revealed he had written a memoir detailing how he decided to imprison his daughter and the efforts he went to in order to hide it from his wife.
Despite raising three of the children fathered between Fritzl and their daughter, Rosemarie Fritzl – his wife, now 84 – did not know what was going on.
Fritzl reportedly convinced his wife that Elisabeth had run away to join a cult.
He seeks to reconcile with his estranged ex-wife.
Her father forced her to write letters to her mother from the basement claiming all was well but that she could not look after her children.
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The book, Die Abgründe des Josef F (The Abysses Of Josef F), was published in Germany, with the help of Austrian lawyer Astrid Wagner, in April.
Reflecting on his crimes, Fritzl said in his memoir: ‘At first it was just a mind game I played. But I got used to it.
‘The idea, which had previously seemed so absurd, so monstrous to me, took shape.
‘One day I knew what I had to do. All that remained was to wait for the right opportunity. On that rainy Saturday morning the time had come. The thought had become action.’
Fritzl intricately set up his underground prison, which featured a heavy metal door hidden behind a shelf in his workroom.
He had made sure only he could gain access to it, installing a keyless, secret code entry only known to him.
Elisabeth was manipulated by her father into thinking that the door was electrified, so that she would be killed if she tried to flee from the shocking abuse.
Elisabeth Fritzl was held in a cellar under her father’s home from the age of eighteen
Image shows handprints traced by Felix, one of the children held in the cellar. Felix writes: ‘I like driving in the car, playing ball, swimming, playing with children.’ The prints are part of a letter shared after the children were rescued in which the family thanked the village for their support and revealed their slow steps towards recovery
Image shows the house of Josef Fritzl, aged 87, in the town of Amstetten, Lower Austria State
Elisabeth, who is now 57, was reported in 2019 to have found love with a bodyguard assigned to protect her.
Her identity was changed and she moved to the Austrian countryside to start over.
Her partner, Thomas Wagner, moved in with Elisabeth and her children, who are now aged between 17 and 31.
She was said to have received effective therapy which has helped her overcome her past trauma.
