Christiane Burkheiser

Josef Fritzl's psychological abnormalities should be regarded as extenuating circumstances in any sentence handed down at his trial in Austria, his lawyer said on Thursday. "Extenuating circumstances must be taken into consideration," Rudolf Mayer told jurors in his closing statement on the final day of the trial. "Regarding the charge of murder, I don't believe it was," Mayer said. "My client was responsible for his actions, but his personality has psychological abnormalities. He didn't choose to be the way he is." Fritzl faces life imprisonment for murder by neglect, over the death of one of seven babies he fathered with his daughter Elisabeth during ... Read Full Story

The eight jurors in the trial of Josef Fritzl withdrew Thursday to decide whether the 73-year-old was guilty as charged of murder, incest, rape, sequestration, grievous assault and enslavement. Earlier, the prosecution called for a "maximum" sentence -- which is life in the case of murder -- for the 73-year-old, who has confessed to all charges. His lawyer, Rudolf Mayer, argued that the defendant "didn't choose to the way he is" and that Fritzl's inbuilt psychological abnormalities should be regarded as attenuating circumstances in any sentence handed down. "Regarding the charge of murder, I don't believe it was," Mayer told jurors in his closing ... Read Full Story

A man who allegedly kept his daughter locked up for 25 years and raped her repeatedly together with his son has been arrested by Italian police. The apartment where the family lived The case has sent shock waves across the country and has already been dubbed Italy's version of the Josef Fritzl case. Prosecutors said the 64-year-old also ''groomed'' his son to abuse his sister and to subject his own young children to horrific sex acts. He has been named in the Italian media as Michele Mongelli and his son as Giuseppe Mongelli. Detectives said the woman's ordeal began when she was just nine ... Read Full Story

Am I the only person in the entire world to have noticed something very wrong about the Fritzl case, other than the detail of the charges for which the defendant was found guilty earlier today? The press has started to dissect the case and analyse it - which is important, and not all of the discussion misses the point. This is a good Times piece which looks at the issues concerning Fritzl's ability to evade the law over the course of several decades, during which he was obviously on the rampage. But my concern is slightly different. Austria appears to have a justice system ... Read Full Story

by Sim Sim Wissgott SANKT POELTEN, Austria (AFP) -- An Austrian court started deliberations on Thursday to decide whether Josef Fritzl should spend the rest of his life behind bars for treating his daughter as a sex slave for 24 years. Fritzl, 73, stunned the court Wednesday by pleading guilty to murder and enslavement, saying he had been shamed into reversing his pleas by the testimony of his daughter Elisabeth. He had already admitted rape, incest and sequestration for fathering Elisabeth's seven children during a quarter of a century of sexual abuse in a damp cellar at the start of the trial. While murder ... Read Full Story