Josef Fritzl, a 73-year-old Austrian man who fathered seven children with a daughter he imprisoned in a cellar for 24 years, has denied a charge of murder at his trial.
Fritzl pleaded guilty to rape and incest but denied murder in connection with the death of a newborn boy who died underground. He also pleaded not guilty to a charge of enslaving his daughter Elisabeth for most of her life.
Fritzl held a blue file folder over his face as he was escorted into the courthouse in St Poelten, west of Vienna.
Wearing a mismatched grey suit, he entered the courtroom flanked by six policemen and holding the blue loose-leaf document binder in front of his face.
Fritzl remained silent and motionless, ignoring questions from television crews before the judge and eight-person jury - six men and six women - entered. He put the binder on the desk in front of him only after camera crews were sent out at the start of the trial.
The defendant faces charges ranging from rape to enslavement for the incarceration of his daughter and three of the children he had with her - acts that sent a wave of revulsion through Austria and the world.
"He shut [Elisabeth] away in the cellar and made her totally dependent on him, forcing her into sexual acts and treating her as if she was his own property," his charge sheet reads.
Fritzl, who built the soundproofed cellar with a reinforced door under his home in the town of Amstetten, could face life in prison.
Fritzl's lawyer argues that a charge of enslavement is inappropriate but says he will plead guilty to deprivation of liberty, coercion, rape and incest. He will contest the most serious charge of murder, however.
Prosecutors say Fritzl is responsible for the death of a twin who died shortly after being born in the cellar in 1996. They say this was murder through neglect because he failed to seek help for the baby, whose body he burnt in a furnace.
The court will hear evidence that Fritzl refused to take action when the boy developed severe breathing problems and turned blue. Fritzl’s daughter said his reponse was: “Whatever happens, happens.”
Legal experts have said the case for murder will be complicated by the absence of forensic evidence.
DNA tests have confirmed Fritzl fathered all six of his daughter’s surviving children, according to the authorities.
Agencies