A Whole New Life

The unlikely hero in the story, Kerstin, was reunited with her mother and the rest of their family on June 8, 2008. She was roused from the artificially induced coma that the doctors had put her in while saving her life. Elisabeth and all 6 of her children have been moved to an undisclosed village in Northern Austria, still somewhat hidden from the world. When Elisabeth found out about her father’s past rape conviction, she was angered that her mom knew about it, yet she claimed that she didn’t know anything about what Josef was doing to her. Even her other children who had grown up with Rosemarie are now with Elisabeth, undergoing treatment for anger about the truth, and abandonment issues at believing their mom had left them when they were younger.

What Has Happened To Josef Fritzl?

The Fritzl house was left empty for over 5 years, and on June 28, 2013, the basement was destroyed and filled with concrete. In December 2016, it was said that the house was sold on the open market and that it will be changed into apartments. Although for those who know the building’s sordid history, it may never be rented out. Josef Fritzl, who is still serving his life sentence in jail, was allowed to change his name to Josef Mayrhoff in May of 2017. It was also reported that he once told investigators, “I was born to rape and I held myself back for a relatively long time. I could have behaved a lot worse than just locking up my daughter.” Thankfully, for Elisabeth’s sake, no one agrees with him.