Josef Fritzl Offered Counseling To Be Able To Cope With The Trauma Of His Trial - Page 2
He would rape Elisabeth in the darkness and leave. 'Lights off. Rape. Lights on. Mould. Damp. Leave.'
To give jurors an idea of the smallness of the cellar she pointed to the box they were seated in.
'About 18 square metres, that was the size of the cellar. The size of the box you are seated in.'
'I have been to the cellar twice,' she told jurors as Fritzl stared ahead at Judge Andrea Humer, his back to the press and public.
'It smells. It is incredibly damp. It has a morbid atmosphere that hits you as you crawl through the 83 square centimetre entrance hole.
'The damp creeps in within minutes. There is wet rot. And he was the absolute ruler of this kingdom. He had complete control.
'She had no washbasin, no bath, no shower, often no heat. He would come, switch the lights off, rape her, leave.
'There was no fresh air. In those first years the air came through gaps in the walls. He used her like a toy. He came, he took her, he left.
'He decided what would be eaten and what medicines would be available. These were aspirin and cough mixture.
'Often the electricity would be switched off or there would be a power failure and she would be left in the dark, sometimes for hours, sometimes for ten days. There were no candles, no torches.
'It was bitingly cold in winter, blisteringly hot in summer. She had to care for and feed babies here.
'But worse than the rapes, worse than the food shortages, worse than the darkness, was always the uncertainty. How long would he be gone? How long would he stay when he returned?
'Would he ever come back from his long holidays?
'This uncertainty was the worst thing of all.'
Quite frankly, how her mother could have either be so incredibly blind and naive, or could have possibly turned a blind eye, is beyond anything I can imagine.
The trial continues through this week. Hopefully, there will finally be justice for Elisabeth, who only survived her ordeal because of incredible strength of character. I sincerely hope that she can finally have a chance at life.
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