New Details Emerge About Austrian Incest Case

PASSAU, Germany, May 5, 2008 — -- Austrian police are now convinced that Josef Fritzl had been planning to imprison and rape his daughter well ahead of time, prompting them to investigate the years of Fritzl's life that preceded the crime, the head of police Franz Polzer told a news conference in Amstetten today.

"He's been planning to build the secret dungeon in the early '80s -- years before he eventually abducted his daughter Elisabeth -- which indicates to us he's been planning his evil crime meticulously for quite some time," Polzer said.

Polzer also said that his investigators "have been able to find another secret door, allowing for a hidden access to the dungeon. This door was hidden behind a heavy metal door, which leads to a soundproof gateway to the electronically secured door, which they had first discovered when they entered the basement prison nine days ago."

Prosecutor Gerhard Sedlacek today revealed that Elisabeth Fritzl had returned with investigators to the windowless dungeon, which was her home for almost 24 years, to help them with their work.

The small Austrian town of Amstetten has become an attraction for so-called catastrophe tourists looking to get a first-hand glimpse of the "house of horrors" where an incestuous father admittedly imprisoned and raped his daughter, fathering seven of her children.

The scandal deepened as more details came to light this weekend.

For the first time, a relative of Fritzl's family has come forward to speak publicly about the man and his secrets.

Christine R., Fritzl's sister-in-law, said in a video interview, which aired on several Austrian TV channels, that he was convicted of rape about the same time that Elisabeth was born.

He served 18 months in jail for the offense in 1967, while his wife, Rosemarie, tried to keep her young family together.

Christine, whose last name was not revealed, said the man was a tyrant who ruled his house like a military dictator.