An Austrian court has made a decision regarding the future of Josef Fritzl, infamously known as the 'Monster of Amstetten.' Fritzl, who kept his daughter captive for 24 years, raped her thousands of times, and fathered seven children with her, has been ruled to be moved from psychiatric detention to a regular prison. The state court in Krems stated that the 89-year-old no longer poses a danger that warrants his continued stay in psychiatric detention.
The court's decision was based on a recent hearing with Fritzl, along with assessments from forensic and psychiatric experts. Due to Fritzl's advancing dementia and physical decline, the court deemed that psychiatric detention is no longer necessary for his 'combined personality disorder,' as the risk of him committing serious crimes has diminished.
Fritzl will be transferred to a prison for a 10-year trial period, with the condition that he cannot be released from detention entirely. Prosecutors had previously appealed a ruling in January allowing Fritzl's move to a regular prison, and both parties retain the right to challenge the latest decision.
Josef Fritzl's heinous crimes came to light in 2008, leading to his conviction in 2009 on charges including incest, rape, coercion, false imprisonment, enslavement of his daughter, and negligent homicide of one of his infant sons. The 'Monster of Amstetten' gained notoriety for imprisoning his then-18-year-old daughter in a sound-proofed basement of his home in 1984. For the next 24 years, he subjected her to repeated sexual assaults, resulting in the birth of seven children, one of whom tragically died.
