Josef Fritzl began planning the dungeon in which he incarcerated his daughter, Elisabeth, for 24 years when she was 12 and was so meticulous that he provided his ”downstairs family” with ultraviolet rays, vitamin tablets and an aquarium, Austrian officials said on Monday. Police said Fritzl (73) began to plan his secret bunker as early as 1978.
”Astonishing” and ”moving”, were the words used by psychiatrists on Tuesday to describe the scene as Elisabeth Fritzl and five of her children were reunited for the first time. The meeting followed years of separation after three of the children fathered through incest by Josef Fritzl were ”chosen” to live above ground.