Comic Fritzl Play Sparks Death Threats

(NEWSER) - Austrian incest dad Josef Fritzl defended his imprisonment of daughter Elisabeth as necessary to stop her abuse of household chemicals, the Daily Mail reports. “She had been sniffing cleaning fluids and I decided I should talk with her in my cellar,” Fritzl said of the day in 1984 that marked the beginning of her captivity. “She reacted to my accusations with a couldn’t-care-less attitude.” More»

How about us?

(NEWSER) - Austria’s most infamous incestuous rapist has access to counseling at the prison where he is housed "to help him through the ordeal of the trial," a prison official said. But the official stressed that Josef Fritzl's care was not out of the ordinary. “There is no special treatment for Josef F,” he said. M More»

(NEWSER) - Josef Fritzl has been charged with murder in the death of one of the seven children he had with his daughter Elisabeth, the Telegraph reports. Austrian prosecutors say he failed to provide medical care to the child, who fell ill shortly after birth. He later burned the child's body in a furnace. Fritzl, 73, also faces charges of rape, enslavement, incest, coercion and deprivation of liberty. More»

(NEWSER) - The Onion, bucking a 20-year trend, plans to cover tomorrow's election results in something resembling real time, the AP reports. The "satirical newspaper of record" and its website have prepared articles and videos in advance, requiring long hours unfamiliar to its writers. “It has become sort of necessary for us to really do a little more coverage than we normally would,” says editor Joe Randazzo. More»

Mother, children were imprisoned in basement

(NEWSER) - Elisabeth Fritzl and her children have returned for the first time to the basement where they were imprisoned, the Daily Mail reports, helping police gather evidence for the trial against their father. Police wanted the family to show them precisely where and how they were held captive. The family has been cooperating with police, even crafting a thank-you poster for them. More»