Josef Fritzl's Dungeon
Elisabeth, daughter of 73-year-old Josef Fritzl, had been kept captive in a dungeon in Amstetten, Austria, by her father since she was a teenager. Josef had convinced his wife, Elisabeth's mother, Rosemarie, that Elisabeth had run off to live with a friend, even presenting letters he forced Elisabeth to write. During the time Elisabeth was underground, Josef raped her repeatedly and fathered seven children with her, one of which died soon after being born. Three of Elisabeth's remaining children were taken upstairs to live with Josef and his wife. This time, Josef convinced Rosemarie that the children had been left at their door as orphans. Elisabeth and the children still living in the dungeon (Kerstin, Stefan and Felix) had come to terms with living in the cramped, dingy space and were sure they would never be freed — at least not while Josef was alive. But when 19-year-old Kerstin fell ill in April 2008, Josef agreed to take her to the hospital. He and Elisabeth carried her out of the house, and Elisabeth was immediately ordered back to her prison. At the hospital, authorities were puzzled by Kerstin's illness and eventually police authorities took Josef into custody. Elisabeth, then 42, was freed, and in March 2009, Josef pleaded guilty to mass rape, incest, wrongful imprisonment, coercion and murder by negligence and was sentenced to life in prison.