The Chilling Details of Elisabeth Fritzl Being Held Captive for 24 Years

A Life Of Torture

At first, Josef chained Elisabeth to a pole and would only come down to her chamber every few days to bring her food and rape her. Eventually, she was given a longer leash so that she could use the toilet. Josef would spend copious amounts of time underground under the guise of working on blueprints for machines that he hoped to sell. He instructed his wife Rosemarie never to go down and bother him, to which she complied. Days turned into weeks, then into months, then into years. Josef threatened to gas the basement if Elisabeth ever attempted to escape or attack him. Elisabeth quickly lost count of how many times her father had his way with her and that eventually had its repercussions.

Elisabeth Starts Having Kids

After a miscarriage in 1986, Elisabeth gave birth in 1989 to her first child-sibling, Kerstin. The birth of Kerstin was followed by Stefan in 1990 and Lisa in 1992. After the birth of Lisa, Josef realized that the one-bedroom basement was getting a little crowded, so he came up with a plan. When Lisa was just nine-months-old when he placed her in a cardboard box and left her on the Fritzls’ doorstep with a note from Elisabeth that asked her parents to take care of the infant. Fritzl made it so that it seemed like Elisabeth briefly returned to give her parents a child that she couldn’t care for.