There are two things I find hard to believe about this horrible Austria story.

[Kathyis6incheshigh]

Neither of them to do with 'how did he do it?' 'how come no-one suspected anything?' etc.

The first is that he was able to adopt 3 kids without his rape conviction being taken into account. I mean, a statute of limitation is all very well for minor crimes, but for rape?

The second is that unless he is done for murder in some way with regard to the twin baby that died, despite all the rapes and having imprisoned 4 people for a total of 75 years, the maximum sentence is will get (according to all the papers I have read) is 15 years. I don't normally go around calling for tougher sentences etc, but WHAT?

AIBU to think there is some kind of institutional misogyny at work here?

You're right Kathy. In particular about how on earth did he adopt those children.

I understand why no one guessed that they were locked in the cellar - some cellars are very shut off from the actual house. I also understand why they didn't try and escape - brainwashing and terror of what would happen.

I agree Belgo. The Guardian (I think) website had a map which showed that actually the cellars where the family were are mostly actually located under the garden, so I don't find it surprising there wasn't much noise.

i cant beleive the wife knew NOTHING and just now on new there was a lodger who has said he saw hiim and another man @a plumber@ going into the basement?!

They had lodgers in the house, as well as the 'normal' family. Apparently they were told they would be evicted if they went into the cellar. When the questioned odd noises, he said it was the plumbing.

According to 5 Live..............

It sounds like he had his wife totally under his control. he told her never to go into the cellar, and so she didn't.

My parents in law own houses with large cellars. You wouldn't know there was a cellar if you were on the ground floor.

I'm intrigued about the birth registration proceedures in austria... whave these children been registered? who did it? did no-one question the absecnce of the mother?

I have just read in the Independent that Elisabeth and her children are so traumatised and unused to open spaces or daylight that doctors have had to place a cargo container outside their current accommodation.

Yes, as others have said it was a type of bunker under the garden rather than what we would normally think of as a cellar in a house basement.

Shrinking they weren't registered.

some of the children have no birth certifcates, sagpuss, only the ones who lived above ground were registered

Sagpuss, I wondered that too. In England even kids born into a secretive sect would have to be registered, and then would presumably need a certificate for them to be adopted.

Oh but does the mother have to be present when the child is registered? In this case some of the children weren't registered, but perhaps if Josef Fritzl had opted to do so he could have just taken the baby to the Registry Office himself (or whatever the procedure may be in Austria?)

That would make sense Onepiece.

I only know that in this country (or it used to be the case) that only one parent had to take the baby - not sure if this is the case if parents not married though?

kathy, waht rape conviction? did he have a rape conviction before adopting hsi grandchildren?

no they wrent registered

he said his daughter left them on the doorstep.

i fyou ahve a child and dont register do the authorities come after you? how couldthey if they dont know the child exists?

But didn't the children go to school? do they not have to be registered to go to school? Maybe he faked registration papers.

Surely he didn't need to adopt them though as they were his grandchildren (as well as his children obviously).

his reason would be she left the babies on the doorstep. didnt leave the birht certificates tho

only the children who lived above the cellar went to school

did the children above and the children below not know about each other? I poresume

I don't think they did know about each other. And yes it was only the three children who lived 'upstairs' who went to school.

why did he choose to let some children out as babies and raise them 'normally' and not the others? apparently he has give police factual details but no explanation as to why he did all this

was he raping the older grandaughter/daughter aswell?

did he sexually abuse his other three daughters who were the mums sisters aswell?

I find it all bloody weird tbh

There is so much about this case that doesn't make sense.
Agree re the length of possible sentence, inferences are that he hasn't committed that severe a 'crime' in legal terms tho it's horrific in reality.

I guess if you have letters (that he (allegedly) forced the mother to write) saying she is living in a cult and can't look after her kids and they appear on your doorstep, people will think you are doing the right thing by taking them in and not questioning lack of official papers.
Think the authorities maybe should have tried to track down the location of said cult tho

another q that bothers me is - why didn't he take ALL the children upstairs? did he reject the other 3 somehow or did she want to keep them?

I really can't imagine being a position where i couldn't have got the 3 of us (minus the little boy) to come up with some sort of plan...they had a kettle so boiling water, a mirror so sharp glass, 3 of them 1 of him, couldn't they have done SOMETHING???? i know i can't relate and hope i never can but .....

x-posted with some of you