Josef Fritzl, who fathered seven children with his daughter whom he kept locked in a basement for 24 years, said he will “definitely” see his grandchildren again as he languishes in prison, according to a new interview.
In conversation with The Sun on TuesdayFritzl, 87, said he misses his family “very, very much” and is sure they will eventually forgive him as he plans to live to be 130 years old.
Fritzl pleaded guilty to all charges of rape, false imprisonment, negligent homicide and incest in March 2009 after it was revealed that he had kept his daughter Elisabeth in a cellar below the family home since she was 18.
The monster from Amstetten, Lower Austria, Reportedly started abusing Elisabeth from the age of 11 and fathered seven children with her, three of whom remained in captivity, three were raised by Fritzl and his wife and one sadly died.
Fritzl is escorted to the fourth day of the trial at the courthouse in St. Poelten on March 19, 2009
Pictured: Josef Fritzl’s dungeon in Amstetten, Austria, 10 years after the crimes came to light
Images show hidden rooms in the basement under Josef Fritzl’s home in Austria
In the telling interview with The Sun, he described his fitness regimen and shared how he greeted King Charles and Queen Camilla at the coronation on Saturday.
He said he was sorry for his crimes and the pain he had caused, adding that he would “never do anything like that again.”
In the interview, Fritzl – who is believed to be suffering from dementia – claimed to have reformed after undergoing therapy indoors.
Last month it was revealed that he had written a memoir detailing how he decided to imprison his daughter and the lengths he went to to hide it from his wife.
Despite raising three of the children conceived between Fritzl and their daughter, Rosemarie Fritzl — his wife, now 84 — didn’t know what was going on.
Fritzl Reportedly convinced his wife that Elisabeth had run away to join a cult.
He tries to reconcile with his estranged ex-wife.
Her father forced her to write letters to her mother from the basement, claiming that everything was fine, but that she could not take care of her children.
The book, Die Abgründe des Josef F (The Abysses of Josef F), was published in Germany in April, with the help of Austrian lawyer Astrid Wagner.
Looking back on his crimes, Fritzl said in his memoir, “At first it was just a mind game I played. But I got used to it.
The idea, which had previously seemed so absurd, so monstrous to me, took shape.
“One day I knew what I had to do. All that remained was to wait for the right opportunity. On that rainy Saturday morning the time had come. The thought had become action.’
Fritzl set up his underground prison intricately, with a heavy metal door hidden behind a shelf in his study.
He had made sure that only he could access it by installing a keyless secret code known only to him.
Elisabeth was manipulated by her father into thinking the door was electrified so that if she tried to flee from the shocking abuse, she would be killed.
Elisabeth Fritzl was kept in a cellar under her father’s house from the age of eighteen
Image shows handprints traced by Felix, one of the children held in the basement. Felix writes: ‘I like driving, playing football, swimming, playing with children.’ The prints are part of a letter shared after the children were rescued, in which the family thanked the village for their support and revealed their slow steps towards recovery
Picture shows the house of Josef Fritzl, age 87, in the town of Amstetten, state of Lower Austria
Elisabeth, who is now 57, was reported in 2019 to have found love with a bodyguard assigned to protect her.
Her identity was changed and she moved to the Austrian countryside to start over.
Her partner, Thomas Wagner, moved in with Elisabeth and her children, who are now aged between 17 and 31.
She is said to have received effective therapy that helped her overcome her past trauma.