Fritzl Family Paints Plea for Normalcy

Josef Fritzl’s family has broken its silence, the Daily Telegraph reports, with a hand-painted sign hung in a window of their Austrian home. The family thanks the public for its support: “We hope that there will be a time when we can return to normal life,” it says, in text surrounded by rainbows and handprints with messages from family members.

Ailing eldest sibling Kerstin is mentioned often on the poster. “I miss my sister,” wrote 18-year-old Stefan, one of the children raised in the dungeon. “I am happy about my freedom and about my family. I like the sun, the fresh air, and the nature.” The poster also includes messages from the “upstairs family,” the children Fritzl raised with his wife. (More Josef Fritzl stories.)