Published 18:37 IST, March 4th 2021
Where is Elisabeth Fritzl now? Know what happened to the girl in the basement
Elisabeth Fritzl was a victim of a 24-year-long rape case at the hands of her own father. Her story was discovered in 2008. Where is Elisabeth Fritzl now?
Lifetime's new feature film, The Girl in the Basement tells the real-life story of the rape and abuse endured by Elisabeth Fritzl at the hands of her own father. The devastating truth reached the headlines after 24 years when she managed to escape the basement she was locked in. Her shocking case helped uncover a series of other similar cases. Where is Elisabeth Fritzl now?
Where is Elisabeth Fritzl now?
Elisabeth was 18 when she was imprisoned and 42 when she escaped in 2008. The eldest of her six children, whom she had birthed due to her father, needed to be urgently hospitalised. As a result, Elisabeth was allowed by her father to take the child to the hospital. It was the first time in 24 years when she saw sunlight. She was quickly led back to the basement but a suspicious note left behind by Josef perked the hospital staff that led the police to reach the house.
She was then discovered and rescued. According to Meaww, she and her children were immediately shifted to state care and then to a village in Northern Austria where they began therapy. Initially, psychologists suggested lifelong therapy due to the piled up trauma they all suffered from. Elisabeth was granted a new name and identity.
She reportedly lives with her children in a bright and well-lit home so that there's no chance of reminiscing pieces of the past. Her children are now between the ages of 17 and 35. Two of the six children experienced enormous anxiety and panic attacks and had a harder time to recover. On the road to recovery, they were kept on mood-altering drugs, exercise and diet plans owing to their former lifestyle.
According to The Independent, Elisabeth and her mother Rosemarie Fritzl had a strained relationship at first but have now grown closer than ever and repaired their relationship. Josef Fritzl has been sentenced to a lifetime of imprisonment in Garsten Abbey and is reportedly suffering from dementia. He has changed his last name to Mayrhoff to live his final days in anonymity.
Updated 18:37 IST, March 4th 2021