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The infamous Austrian criminal, Josef Fritzl, who kept his daughter captive for 24 years, might soon be spotted sipping coffee in a Vienna cafe if a contentious legal request goes through.
Fritzl’s attorney, Astrid Wagner, has filed a request for him to receive day releases from prison for what’s known as ‘social training’—a program aimed at helping long-term prisoners regain everyday life skills.
If granted, 90-year-old Fritzl, also known as the Cellar Monster, could make his first public appearance in over ten years, despite being sentenced to life for an array of heinous acts that shocked the globe.
In 2008, Fritzl’s name became infamous for his horrific actions—it was revealed that he had trapped his daughter Elisabeth in a concealed basement below his house in Amstetten, Lower Austria, starting when she was 18 years old.
Over nearly 25 years, he repeatedly sexually assaulted her, resulting in the birth of seven children—one of whom died in infancy, with prosecutors attributing part of the blame to his negligence.
Fritzl was ultimately found guilty of murder, rape, incest, enslavement, and extreme coercion, marking him as the sole individual in Austria’s history to be convicted of slavery.
He was first held in a secure psychiatric hospital but has since been moved to a standard prison in Krems.
Wagner has now told The Mirror her client is ‘fit for small outings’ and needs to ‘reintegrate into society’, saying he should be allowed to practice ordering coffee, using a mobile phone and performing simple tasks like opening and locking doors.
Josef Fritzl, also known as the Cellar Monster, could be seen in public for the first time in over a decade, despite serving a life sentence for a catalogue of crimes so depraved they stunned the world. Pictured: Fritzl is seen during day four of his trial at the country court of St. Poelten in 2009
Fritzl was locked up in 2009 after he admitted to raping his daughter Elisabeth (pictured) thousands of times while keeping her locked up in his basement and fathering seven children with her
His lawyer Astrid Wagner (pictured) has confirmed she has lodged a petition for the pensioner to be granted day visits outside prison for so-called ‘social training’
She argued that he is failing to take prescribed dementia medication and no longer fully understands the purpose of his detention – insisting that furthering his detention would breach the European Convention of Human Rights.
Wagner confirmed: ‘He’ll be in a café with a psychologist. There’s a very nice café near the correctional facility, and he’ll be going there for coffee soon’.
Under the plan, Fritzl would initially have supervised coffee trips with a psychologist to the nearby cafe before being allowed 12-hour day visits, potentially including trips to Vienna.
The request has triggered outrage across Austria.
Veteran crime journalist Michael Koch hit out at the move, reminding the public that Fritzl’s crimes were not ‘just’ about locking his daughter in a basement, but part o a sustained reign of terror that left deep scars on his victims and horrified the world.
Critics fear the move could open the door to eventual full release – something Wagner has also pushed for in the past.
She maintains that ‘everyone deserves a chance’, but for many, the idea of seeing Fritzl strolling through the city square is unthinkable.
It comes after the incest monster claimed in April that he was friends with Donald Trump and believed the US President was sending him secret messages through hand signals from the White House.
Wagner revealed that Fritzl believed how hand movements made by Trump at press conferences on TV were secret signs meant only for him to update him on the talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Elisabeth lived in this dingy, cramped basement for 24 years with her children
Pictured above is the entrance to the dungeon underneath Fritzl’s house in Amstetten
Fritzl also claimed that the audience clapping heard during his favourite televised folk music shows was applause for him from a ‘grateful’ Austrian public.
As well as fantasies about Trump and applause, Wagner said he told her that Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker had called him asking him to ‘look after the children’ in Austria.
She said at the time: ‘In truth, he needs special therapy.’
Wagner told MailOnline at the end of last year: ‘I went to see Mr Fritzl in prison today, and he keeps talking about wanting to be in a house when he gets out of prison, and he has made very, very clear it has to have a cellar.
‘He says he wants a cellar because he has so many things he needs to store. Of course he’s been transferred from a high security to the standard prison, but he still has all his things which he has collected over the years.’
‘I’m talking about loads and loads of files and folders. This is why he said his new place absolutely has to have a cellar.’
When asked if she thought he was aware how unsuitable it was for him to demand a cellar given his horrific crimes, Wagner said: ‘He didn’t really notice, or maybe he didn’t but he didn’t say anything. He’s old and getting more and more frail. He’ll be 90 next year. And now it’s time for him to be released.’
Fritzl also believes he will walk out of prison to people ‘cheering and wanting to shake his hand’ if he is successful in his bid for freedom, according to Wagner.
Fritzl was pictured outside of prison for the first time in 15 years as he arrived in court last year (above)
Elisabeth and her children lived in the basement of the family home in Amstetten while Fritzl and his wife Rosemarie lived above
As well as fantasies about Trump and applause, Wagner said he told her that Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker had called him asking him to ‘look after the children’ in Austria
She told the Mirror in February that deluded Fritzl believes that ‘a big celebration with people cheering’ and ‘wanting to shake his hand’ will be waiting for him if he ever got out of prison.
‘This is obviously not the case. It is a fantasy. I don’t think he fully understands what the world really thinks,’ Wagner explained.
Despite the delusions, Fritzl is said to be in fair physical shape for his age.
When asked how he feels about his upcoming milestone birthday, Wagner replied: ‘He wants to grow old. He wants to grow old enough to get out of prison.’
