Josef Fritzl, the Austrian man who kept his daughter as a sex slave in his basement for 24 years and raised her seven children, may be transferred from prison to an elderly care facility, according to global reports. .
Fritzl, who is now 88 years old, suffers from dementia and is reportedly weak due to several falls, so he is not expected to pose a threat to the public in the future, Austria said. This was reported by the news agency ORF.
An Austrian court will decide whether Fritzl's condition qualifies him to be released from a maximum-security prison and placed in a care home.
Fritzl will be eligible for parole this year under Austrian law that allows prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment to apply for parole after serving 15 years.
Josef Fritzl, who raped his daughter and imprisoned her for 24 years, could be transferred to a regular prison
In 2009, an Austrian court sentenced him to life in prison for rape, enslavement and murder for keeping his daughter in a basement for 24 years, raping her, and causing the death of her son. (Reuters/Pool/Robert Yeager)
Fritzl's daughter Elisabeth disappeared in 1984 at the age of 18. She was found in 2008 after being kept in a windowless basement for 24 years and subjected to brutal abuse.
When asked about his whereabouts, Fritzl reportedly replied that he had run away. Authorities indicted Fritzl in 2008.
The basement where Josef Fritzl raised his daughter and buried his children in cement.
Defendant Josef Fritzl, 73, arrives for the final day of his trial in St. Polten, Lower Austria, Austria, on March 19, 2009. (Reuters/Pool/Helmut Vollinger)
As reported by the Associated Press and Reuters, a year later Mr. Fritzl murdered one of the sons he had with his captor's daughter shortly after birth, and was subsequently charged with incest, rape, coercion, false imprisonment, and enslavement. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for negligent homicide. Previously reported.
In 2009, when Fritzl was 73 years old, the incest killer burned his son's body in a furnace, investigators said.
The daughter of Austria's 'father of terror' Josef Fritzl has reportedly woken up from a coma.
Fritzl's basement has been sealed off with concrete, much to the delight of neighbors who want to forget one of Austria's most horrifying crimes. (Reuters/Leonhard Foger)
“He forced Elisabeth into slave-like conditions, kept her in a cellar, made her completely dependent on him, forced her to perform sexual acts, and treated her as if she were his property.'' State prosecutors said. According to Reuters, government officials said in a statement in 2009:
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Prosecutors also alleged that Fritzl threatened to kill Elisabeth and gas her children.
