Fritzl children growl and coo to ’speak’ to each other
May 2, 2008
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THE children cut off from the outside world from birth by their father developed an animal-like language of their own, growling and cooing as their mother tried to give them a “normal” upbringing.
A picture is emerging of day-to-day life in the Austrian cellar. It showed the remarkable protective efforts Elisabeth Fritzl went to in raising the children fathered by her own father, 73-year-old Josef Fritzl.
She read to them, told them fairy stories and sang them lullabies to help them to sleep.
The details were revealed as Fritzl’s lawyer said his client - who took holidays in Thai sex resorts while Elisabeth and the children were imprisoned - had complained that his own life had been “ruined” by the discovery of his secret family.
Elisabeth was kept in the windowless cellar with her two oldest children - Kerstin, 19, Stefan, 18, and her youngest, five-year-old Felix.
Her other three children lived a normal life upstairs at the house in Amstetten, 128km west of Vienna, with Fritzl and his wife Rosemarie, 60.
Yesterday police revealed how Stefan and Felix would communicate in a bizarre dialect which is baffling the doctors and psychologists who have been monitoring them since their release at the weekend.
They said some of the sounds they made were animal-like.
“It is only half true that they can speak,” local police chief Leopold Etz said.
“They communicate with noises that are a mixture of growling and cooing.
“If they want to say something so others understand them as well, they have to focus and really concentrate, which seems to be extremely exhausting for them.”
Police also revealed how Elisabeth, who is now 42 but had been imprisoned in the cellar beneath her parents’ home since she was 18, tried her hardest to raise Kerstin, Stefan and little Felix in the best way possible - despite having lost the innocence of her own childhood as a result of horrific sexual abuse by her father from the age of 11.
It was reported that Elisabeth had never told her children they were all imprisoned by their father. Indeed she did everything possible to create an illusion of normality.
She taught them to speak as best she could and educated them from the television, which provided the only glimpse of the outside world they had in their entire lives.
Elisabeth would even sing lullabies to help the children get to sleep.
Police said that Felix continues to still sing one tune to comfort himself.
But Mr Etz said: “It can’t be called a goodnight song really, as there was never any night or day in the cellar.”
Elisabeth would try to pass the terrible hours of boredom by making models with the children out of cardboard and glue. She would entertain the children by watching adventure films on TV with them, and then make up fairy stories for them about princesses and pirates, police said.
Fritzl provided his secret family with a washing machine and a freezer. He would often visit to discuss aspects of their upbringing with Elisabeth, while his other children, Lisa, 16, Monika, 14, and Alexander, 12, lived unawares upstairs.
His double life involved him spending hours on end in the cellar watching TV and playing with the youngsters while Elisabeth prepared dinner.
But she could not protect Kerstin and her two brothers from their father’s violent beatings if they did not behave in the way he wanted.
The three children and their mother have all suffered complicated medical problems as the consequence of living in such an unnatural environment. Stefan walks with a stoop because of the limited ceiling height - no more than 1.68m - while Felix prefers to crawl around, although can walk upright if he wants to.
Kerstin has already lost all her teeth. She is in a serious but stable condition in hospital where she is in an induced coma and undergoing dialysis.
It was Fritzl’s decision to take her to hospital that led to the cellar being discovered, after doctors became suspicious.
All the children and their mother are suffering from a depleted immune system and vitamin D deficiency. Elisabeth is said to look 20 years older than her 42 years.
Mr Etz said there were signs that Fritzl’s youngest victim was making a recovery.
“We are proud Felix trusts us more and more,” he said. “We are almost friends already. It makes us extremely sad to hear of what the boy had to endure.”
He told of incredible scenes as the little boy discovers life for the first time. When Felix first looked at the moon on his release, he asked his rescuers: “Is God up there?”
And when he saw the sun he became even more excited, making a squeaking noise and trying to look directly at it through his fingers.
Doctors said that since he came out he has been in a state of constant excitement. When he saw a cow for the first time in his life he excitedly made gurgling noises, but when police took him in a lift he was petrified and clung tightly on to his mother.
Dr Berthold Kepplinger, who examined the brothers at a psychiatric clinic near their home town of Amstetten, said they were staying in a suite which could be locked from the inside to make them feel safe.
Police also told how the brothers have been enjoying good food for the first time. The boys said a dinner they had been served “tasted wonderful”. They had also shared birthday cake with their new-found sibling Alexander, who turned 12 on Monday.
In stark contrast, their father was complaining about the conditions at the prison where he is being held.
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21 Responses to “Fritzl children growl and coo to ’speak’ to each other”
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This man should be castrated, handcuffed, kept in a completely white cell for the rest of his life. We do not need humans like that on this earth. God alone knows of all the sick things he did to all his children. How is it possible? The authorities should make an example of this sick man. Lock him up for the rest of his life.
Lock him with some horny jailbirds who say: “Who yo’ Daddy!”, nightly.
ADG
Isn’t Elisabeth a miracle? Fritzl’s own mother beat him savagely, severely, and in turn look at the monster he became. She could have chosen to continue the cycle of violence in their family, but no, she did not; she protected and loved her children the best way she could. Her courage astounds me. May she and the children survive and thrive. And may Fritzl get all agony he caused right back at him.
Pat, forgive me for my mob-mentality outburst. You bring maturity, insight and empathy to this dreadful abomination of a family situation. Bravo.
ADG
Elisabeth Fritzl is truly a testimonial to the human spirit. The fact that she tried to give her children the most “normal” life she could, despite her own unimaginable suffering, speaks to the incredicble depths of one mother’s love.
I painfully struggle to comprehend what this family has endured and I pray that they can somehow move on to a better life. I too keep wishing horrible things on Josef Fritzl, but then I realize that there is absolutely NOTHING on this earth that can be levied on him that comes close to the eternal punishment he deserves. I think that will need to happen when he meets his maker. My prayers are with Elisabeth’s daughter Kersten and the rest of the family and I wish them all the best this world has to offer, as God knows, they have witnessed the absolute worst.
For all of Joseph Fritzl’s abnormal cruelty we still need to keep in perspective the fact that he is an exception to the human race and by no means the rule. There were a lot of factors that went into the construction of his psyche ie. the concentration camps of WWII, possibly his own abused childhood and most importantly of all his own domineering and authoritarian personality. He is obviously suffering from a narcissistic personality disorder of some kind and is a sociopath who wouldn’t understand how to be a decent human being if it were explained to him in detail. He is an aberration and a dangerous freak. We can only hope and pray that the Austrian government will punish him severely for all the suffering he has caused.
While I concur with Rebecca:
“…Elisabeth Fritzl is truly a testimonial to the human spirit…”,
with all respect, Christine, I think that your latter comments sound mostly like a lot of liberal nonsense (and I’m a liberal), clothed in pseudo-psychological babble. It’s very dangerous to “explain” psychotic behavior. The “reasons” are irrelevant. The “effect” is ALL that we should consider.
Personally, I don’t care whether Hitler was badly potty-trained or Pol Pot had a short-man complex. What matters to me is that their behavior destroyed millions of lives…and your well-meaning psychological explanations can mean nothing to Elisabeth Fritzl.
Yes, “…he is an aberration and a dangerous freak…” and that is ALL we need to consider.
Psychological “explanations” only “help” in an analysis of neurotic, self-referential behavior. They are irrelevant when discussing psychotic behavior.
ADG
I read that they’re looking to only give this disgrace to humanity only 15 years in prison?
Its so terribly sad to know that evil breeds evil, because I can only hope for the very worst for this man.
he should be sentenced to death. And no more time should be WAISTED on this creature. Instead everyone should concentrate on elizabeth and her children.
quite unfortunate that we can see for real a human being in sheep’s clothing, because i thought it was only an adage, i never know i will live to see a human being behaving like an “animal” cos i only know of animals having sex with their own offspring. Though i have heard series of related stories, but not to the extent of imprisoning one’s own daughter, turn her to a sex machine and father her seven children. Am sure everybody knows that is a TABOO.
This animal (josef Fritzl) was even callous to extent of leaving this innocents souls for that long in the dungeon, assuming along the line that he kept this innocents in the cellar he (josef fritzl) should passed on (died)
what would have become of Elizabeth and her children.
Infact this man is a devil incarnate, i would like to know how Elizabeth delivered all the seven children, did josef bring in a nurse to deliver her or she is the one that delivered herself if she falls to labour. And i read there are only going to sentence him to just 15 years imprisonment, what a fair judgement to such a devil being.
If i happens to be the judge i will sentence him to death, and not just death, i will ordered he should be killed bit by bit. Starting from that filty thing called his manhood, because i just cant imagine how that stupid thing should work on her own flesh and blood.
Considering the great harm this idiot has caused on his innocent victims, imagine Stefan that can only walk with a stoop, and Felix a five year old boy that is still crawling, because of the limited ceiling height of the cellar.
Infact this man has to be really dealt with, for heaven’s sake 15 years is not enough for that “MONSTER”
I am following the development of this dungon tragedy every since a friend 1st made me aware of it.
I am ashamed these days to say that I am Austrian, it is true that the countrys social structure nurtures violence.
As I did not grow up at home with my family but in a state run orphanage, I had come accross very sad fates that had happened to children, that I grew up with there.
A boy his name escapes me now, was kept in his baby crib until the age of 5, cream of wheat baby cereal was the only food he knew, he could not walk, talk, or eat and since I grew up with him (now his name comes back to me Christopher Mineli) he was discoverered by authorities.
Antoher girl Gerda had been beaten so severely that she had began to use violence on herself in emotional stressful moments she would throw herself against the wall head 1st, I dont know why she did it but as time passed in an environment free of abuse and pedagogic positie support she turned into a healthy normal teenager. I once while living at the orphanage was able to catch a glimbse of a magazine that was issued within social circles inside I found photos depicted of abused children that had been discovered and put into state care, there were official stats of known abuses, and the dark number of abuses suspected to go undetected. The pictures of these children and their injuries were the foundation of hatred that I developed for this country.
When I reached age 16 on completion of highschool, I was made aware that the cost for my living was not being paid to full extend by my parents, therefore the state informed me that 50% of an income earned as an apprentice once a position was found would be deducted by the institute per state regulations. Yet I was not permitted to leave, also a solution was thought of for the event that a juvenile resident would refuse to find work outside, the institute would require you to work on the site for example kitchen duty and other odd cleaning jobs.
Some of you are wondering what I am trying to say, that this is in no way related to the subject, but to the contrary it is, I am trying to give readers a taste of the Austrian machine.
Of course people are in disbelieve how this could have happened, and to the extend it happened.
My own analyze is pretty much in line with what the experts sugest.
Not much time has past since 2nd World War and before there was the 1st World War and before there were the old ways of the Monarchie, the old ways means the ranking system a society is build on, well in Austria it is absolute Authority, the Government is on top, the Police enforces the law and not always in humanitarian ways, there have been outcries by Amnesty International over the decates on some instances.
At work the same Hirachy exists people will never address their superior with the 1st name and employees will always address everyone with Mr. Mrs. or Magister and what not titles a person might be decorated with.
At home this mentality reflects that the Mother and Father are in general unquestioned Authority, while I agree that authority is not an evil for children towards their parents, now living in Canada I see many cases where Teenagers call their parents names and give them much grief because of a lack of authority.
But back to Austria, the danger is that children have to much fear and that includes the Mother if the father is violent and abusive, they are trapped in an environment that secures them housing food but to break free is not as easy as an outsider would suggest. The abuser in Austria has a very useful tool to track a person that has escaped, as the Austrian law requires every single person no exception made to register with the local district police office and report their name and address with copy of passport or birthcertificate as identity proof. What does that translate to, let me explain, Elisabeth you all are familiar with the story escaped her abusive home in Amstetten and moved to Vienna the story states that she returned home, but a important fact remains that she may have wanted to hide but was not able to do so due to the registration law. All her father would have had to do is go to the Amstetten Police Station and pull the record of her current residence. So running away from an abusive enverionment is easy but it is impossible to hide once whereabouts.
The police even imprisons people found on the street if they can not give them the information residence, this also applies for homeless people they are required to register with the shelter they use most frequent.
So what Josef Fritzl had to do in order to coneal his crime was issue a letter to the authorities, composed by his daughter that explained her underground life with a Sekt comunity name not mentioned and the Elizabeth although no where registred could not be acknowledge by the authorities as being in danger as letters appeared over the course of time making it plausible to the police. Josef Fritzl had created an environment that would conceal her presense to the outside world and since no one was suspecting a crime and lets be honest who would be able to imagine this crime since Elizabeth’s letters stated that she was well and with a artificial family of her choice the police had no reason to suspect anything and if they had were would they have wanted to look for her.
The system worked in favor of a sick, pervert who had the inteligence to not only execute the crime but maintain it over the course of decades.
People and the Media argue that his wife must have known something or noticed something, the possibility is there but given Josef Fritzl’s demeanor towards his family and wife she in all likelyhood would not have cared less where he was as long as he was not around, and certainly spying on him or getting nosy on him would have spelled trouble, this was not a relation ship where the wifes asks the husband for his destination and time of return, I grew up in Austria and because of having seen how some families social structure is controlling in a very onesided way it is also possible that the wife did not notice anything or not enough signs were present to give away the location of her daughter, even if the wife suspected deep inside some faulplay she had little to present to the authorities, her instincts would have been not much to convince anyone of a suspected wrong doing and as the police reports Elisabeths jail was impossible to detect without directions by Josef Fritzl himself.
punchline is the 24 years of fear, forced compromise towards the abuser, absence of daylight, wind, choice, privacy, and the ultimate realization that there is no escape, the only protection Elisabeth had was her cooperation with the Jailor to avoid conflict as much as possible she could control.
I am so sad for her and her children
leave him in general population, segregation is too good for the sick bastard
I live one european state away from where this occured and am devisated. There are a great many things that should happen to this man. He should be burried alive, but dug up before he could die, electicuted but not to much to kill him, douced in ice water for long periods of time but not to much to kill him. I think they should take the southeastern asian terms of terrorist punishments toward this monster because God knows he deserves it. It’s not enough knowing that he’s a monster, that he’s a psycopath and that he didn’t quite UNDERSTAND or COMPREHEND what he was doing as wrong. He knew very well what he was doing. He had other children. His grandchildren are his children, their mother is also in a sense their older sibling. He knew he was doing something wrong. The odds are that he raped the kids living upstairs as well as the ones living downstairs. The luckiest one is little Michael who died after a few days of birth. I want to know more about how the kids are doing, the more human and the unique individuals. All news is the same about how monsterous this man is and the conditions of the dungeon, but what about Kerstin, Stefan, Lisa, Monika, Alexader, and Felix? What about how they are doing with their sunlight, their mother, their life.
I’ve run across different people who’ve done some criminal things, abuse toward children, toward people (nothing as serious and terrifying as these cases) this man should be put out in the streets tied to a pole, and let the citizens who want to do whatever they want to him. He is a sick man who needs to be severly punished, mentality put out of mind.
I completely agree with you that this is a more horrible and sick crime than atleast i can fathom. And 15 years is prison is way too little for the things he did. But think about it,. What do you people think would happen if for example, Fritzl knew he’d get a death sentence, do you think the case would be discovered and the children released, or would he simply let Kerstin die, and they would all still be undiscovered in the basement?
It’s truely horrible to read that stuff like this happen, but i am not so sure that harsh punishments leads to less crime. Just look at America.
The law is very lax in Austria. To “clean” a perverts record after 15 years is very destructive and dangerous and we now witness this.
The courts should keep him confined in a solitary cell sentencine him for : one year for every year he stole from his dtr and one year for every other victim. This will total more than 50 years. He must be forced to repay for the foster care children that the state so nicely supported, for the social workers 20 visits, and for all other expenses incurred by his evil.
His wife knew something but preferred to be quiet rather than risk his wrath. Sad…..her mistake is not forgiveable.
The courts should keep him confined in a solitary cell sentencine him for : one year for every year he stole from his dtr and one year for every other victim. This will total more than 50 years. He must be forced to repay for the foster care children that the state so nicely supported, for the social workers 20 visits, and for all other expenses incurred by his evil.
His wife knew something but preferred to be quiet rather than risk his wrath. Sad…..her mistake is not forgiveable.
The law is very lax in Austria. To “clean” a perverts record after 15 years is very destructive and dangerous and we now witness this.
Elisabeth Fritzle is my hero….plain and simple….
God Bless that woman….
Congrats to Elisabeth for having the courage to convince her evil dad to take Kerstin to hospital. Otherwise none of this could have come out. To me Elisabeth is a real hero educating her children under the circumstances, unbelievable! Joseph, the BASTARD should rot in jail! My prayers are with Kerstin and Elisabeth. May God grant the whole family peace and love always.
“This man should be castrated, handcuffed, kept in a completely white cell for the rest of his life.”
It’s good to know how merciful you are. You’re authoritarians, same as Fritzl. Given power over another human being, you would treat him in monstrous ways.
“Fritzl’s lawyer said his client - who took holidays in Thai sex resorts ”
Probably abusing children over there. That’s where a lot of these perverts go (or used to, I think they’ve toughened the laws). No telling what other acts this monster has imposed on other innocents of society. Too bad they didn’t catch him years ago. At age 72 he pretty much got away with it, regardless of his sentence.
“This man should be castrated, handcuffed, kept in a completely white cell for the rest of his life.”
It’s good to know how merciful you are. You’re authoritarians, same as Fritzl. Given power over another human being, you would treat him in monstrous ways.
OF COURSE WE WOULD. It’s called revenge, not the most advertised policy but strangely effective, now before you go making stupid comments about “given power over another human being treat em like a monster blah blah blah screw yourself………” i wouldnt “treat anyone monstrously” without serious bidding for such treatment. now stfu.