By Greg Milam, Sky Europe correspondent

It is the sort of notoriety normally reserved for the homes of serial killers.

For Austrians, 29 Ybbsstrasse is already guaranteed its place in criminal history.

No-one has died but what went on in - and under - the Fritzl family home in Amstetten is now the centre of a frenzy of interest.

It seems that most of the town's 30,000 residents have already made a rather ghoulish pilgrimage to the grey bunker of a house.

They watch the TV crews and the TV crews watch them, and ask what they knew of the Josef Fritzl, his wife and children.

Such is the surreal soap opera that so often plays out at the scene of such crimes.

No-one who lives here can quite grasp the horrible truth surrounding a family they've got to know over the years.

They simply stand and stare at number 29.

And, like most of us now, they wonder how and why.

"We watched the grandmother take the children to school, they looked like a normal family," they say. "And all the time those poor children were under the ground."

It is a case more horrifying because of the magnitude.

Austria is still dealing with the fall out from the Natascha Kampusch case which came to light less than two years ago.

For weeks, allegations of cock-up and cover-up filled the newspapers here.

Miss Kampusch will be back in the spotlight again now - one of the few people in the world who can tell us what Elisabeth Fritzl has been through.

This case is bigger.

As one newspaper here put it today: "We need to know what has gone very fundamentally wrong."

Comments

[Ann Dublin May 9, 2008 10:41:06 AM]

When Elizabeth was 14 she ran away, surely questions would have been asked about the reason for this. The authorities are the ones who have failed her.

Elizabeth's mother should have gone to the police secretly to ask them to find her daughter. His story about the cult did not add up it was too far fetched, and the babies turning up on the door step was ridiculous. It's only in recent years that the police have been getting involved in domestic violence situations perhaps she was afraid that the police would tell her husband about her contacting them.

[patricia ireland May 9, 2008 5:57:40 AM]

what i dont understand is if he was a convicted rapist,why was he not investigated by police for the dissapperance of his daughter.she could not just take off like that without without some sort of investigation.i feel the police may have some questions to answer,regarding their handeling of missing persons and missing persons whos family are convicted rapists.god knows how they all survived,i cant imagaine a week not to mind 24 years.at 73 soon he will join his mate satan and rot in hell..............................

[Greg, Kent, England May 7, 2008 4:38:31 AM]

I think the house should be bulldozed and the cellar dug up as soon as possible after the police and authorities have finished. Surely it is in the national interest that the place doesn't become a Mecca for weirdos. If reports are correct and Fritzl owes large amounts of money the house must be vulnerable to possession by legal means.

[james scotland May 6, 2008 1:34:23 PM]

the only possible sentence for ANY sex offenders is to be strung up by the short and curlies with rusty barb wire until death but we have to many dam do gooders he wont even serve 10 years in jail

[jacinta Tours, France May 5, 2008 1:42:34 AM]

I feel differently to many people on the subject of protecting the victims' identities. No more hiding. They've been hidden from the rest of the world for so long, now they must surface and learn to breathe again. However Fritzl's vile, ugly face should not be shown on tv, newsapers. Victims become marginalised if their ids are kept secret, the public could dismiss them or discredit their stories. Times have changed. We can no longer accept the unacceptable.

[Svetlana, Dublin May 3, 2008 4:09:34 AM]

To those who wonder why Elisabeth didn't try to run away, she did in 1994, but he found her and brought her back, probably installing in her with hands and fear why she shouldn't ddo it again. Information on this subject is available from Wikipedia.

- According to Germany's Bild newspaper, Elisabeth succeeded in escaping from the cellar on 24 December 1994. Shortly thereafter, she was found by Josef and forced back into captivity.

- Local petrol station attendant Alfred Dubanovsky, who had stayed in one of the flats for twelve years, has said he heard noises from the cellar in 1995.

- On 19.04.08, Elisabeth's daughter Kerstin was admitted to the hospital with kidney failure. The medical staff contacted Interpol and started an appeal campaign to find the missing mother. A note from her mother asking for help was found in Kerstin's pocket.

[tom london May 2, 2008 7:20:07 PM]

Why are we calling this man an animal? Animals have more respect for there young than this barbaric filthmonger

[Just Me May 1, 2008 7:56:57 AM]

If my 18 year old child went missing, I would not stop looking, never ever. I'd devote every waking moment of my life trying to find her. HOW could that mother give up? Letter or no letter. I would have had that analyzed and traced upon receipt.
The lives that were ruined here, the inhumanity.. I can't wrap my mind around it.
Add to all of this, Fritzl building this bunker with the aid of gov't grants .. plus collecting monies for foster care of the children upstairs. It's disgusting.

[Faqi May 1, 2008 1:09:07 AM]

Iam surprised that they did not shout through the air shaft or make some noise to gain the attention of anyone, while the Monster was away on holiday in Thailand for 3 weeks? So many questions as why she did not attempt to escape in 24 years of captivity. The wife definitely is an accomplice, she could not be that naive about finding babies on their door step. If the dungeon was out of bounds to every one, that was a huge clue to be checked when the beast was away by the wife or the other adult children.Why did she not check it? She is a willing accomplice to this terrible crime.

[Faqi May 1, 2008 12:57:56 AM]

How could the wife not know? The food and clothes that were taken to the basement and the time this monster spent in the cellar. All these were tell tale signs. Also when this Beast went on holiday, why did the wife not take a peek at the cellar. What of the other adult siblings of Elizabeth? why did they not look at the cellar when the monster was away. The wife should have known.

[GMaureen Apr 30, 2008 6:25:29 AM]

Truly one of the worst stories I have ever heard!
Of course the mother (Rosemarie)knew what was going on, on some level. Her daughter (Elizabet)was being raped, in her home, from the age of 11.
I wonder what would have happened to Elizabeth and her children if he had suddenly dropped dead? Would they have died of starvation? Did he have a plan for them in the event of his death?

[Emma Romford Apr 30, 2008 2:30:15 AM]

I dont think the wife did know, the papers say that it was sound proof and not even the loudest scream could be heard. You dont know how he treated his wife, he could have (well most proberly was) a forceful demanding man where if she questioned things she would get a beating. People like that can make you believe anything if it keeps them quiet.

[Kylie Essex Apr 30, 2008 2:22:23 AM]

What kind of world do we live in! I'm sorry but it's far too early for the authorities to be saying the wife knew nothing, I don't believe that for a moment!
How will they ever live a normal life after this, just finding out your mother is also in fact your sister and you're the result of incest and rape is enough to cope with and thats before you start on everything else that's happened. My heart goes out to them. She must of been so strong to have been able to keep herslef sane enough to look after the children, which she taught to walk talk etc. She's amazing!

[saad, pakistan Apr 29, 2008 10:38:59 PM]

its horrible and disgusting. and there is no way the wife of that anumal didnt know what was going on. i'd like to think that the captives, now found, have a life ahead. But how they will come to terms with what happened seems a herculean task. There is so much that went wrong and the authorities cannot escape the blame on their part. the victims will recieve prayers from all, and i hope it helps them recover. But there is no excuse for what both the husband and wife did and no punishment big enough for them.

[Alex UK Apr 29, 2008 5:03:03 AM]

The mother must have heard movement downstairs, voices, children crying, she must have wondered why he disappeared down into the cellar for ages on end, took food, nappies, etc down into the cellar. My heart goes out to the poor girl and her children and I wish them the very best for their future, now that they actually have one.

[Jackie - Namibia Apr 29, 2008 1:50:01 AM]

I agree with Paul...the wife must have known...and as a mother she should have gone and looked for her daughter even though they found a letter stating "don't come look for me" Your child is your child!!!
They should lock the that animal up!!!!He is a disgrace for the human race..

[Paul Spencer Hemel Hempstead Apr 29, 2008 12:54:56 AM]

I do not believe that this animals wife, the so-called grandmother never knew that he abused his daughter up to the age of 18. Then, after she"disappeared",was not suspicious of her husband. Then when other kids are"abandoned"on the dor-step? srry if I sound synical but come on, she must have known

[jas london Apr 28, 2008 11:13:31 PM]

so whats new the social services got it wronge again
what they should do is sack everyone in social services and employ people who can think and act
if a child is left on some-one`s door step one can say
where did this child come from but 3 children are the people in social services that stupid (they must be)
now the doo-gooders will say that (animal) (ops) person needs medical help (like ----)
he will be better looked after then the victim (nothing new)

[Dayan Govender Apr 28, 2008 10:29:36 PM]

This is such a tragedy - I hope and pray that this young lady and her children will get the love and support they need and deserve to help them move on from this and not be judged by people in their community - they are the victims here, and are not to be belittled.

[A, Bath Apr 28, 2008 2:45:19 PM]

Like the previous comment, it is not true that no-one has died. An innocent defensless baby has, who might have survived if it had received medical attention. This is a tragedy in itself what ever the circumstances.

[Emily, Bristol Apr 28, 2008 8:26:41 AM]

You say in this news story that "No-one has died." But it has been widely documented that one baby died and the body was burnt. Sloppy blogging here, Sky, well done.

[Carolyn Bongiorno Glenham, NY USA Apr 28, 2008 6:55:41 AM]

Rape and incest victims have their identities protected here in the U.S., and I assumed that was a standard practice.

[Carolyn Bongiorno Apr 28, 2008 4:29:00 AM]

It was wrong for the international press to release the names of the 42 year old daughter and her children. This poor woman has been brutalized and had her trust betrayed by her own father. The process of reintegrating her into society will be especially hard, and by failing to protect her identity you've made her situation even worse. I can't imagine the suffering this poor woman and her children endured, and I'm not convinced her own mother didn't know what was happening. This is gothic and appalling. God help them.