© EuroPics / LKA NÖ

03. 11. 08. - 07:00

• more General News news
• RSS Feed General News

03. 11. 08. - 07:00

Terrified Fritzl to share jail with brain-eating cannibal

Incest dad Josef Fritzl is terrified of his upcoming trial after learning he would have to serve his sentence in a high security mental asylum.

His jail mates will include teenage cannibal killer Robert Ackermann whose last victim was also a sex pervert. Ackerman, who was 19 at the time, munched on the brains of Austrian-born Josef Schweiger, 49, for two days before the body was found by a cleaner at a hostel in Vienna.

One warder at the St Pölten jail where Fritzl is currently held said: "People in here for anything involving abusing children always get a hard time from the other inmates. They used to bang on his cell and shout ‘Satan - come out and play’. Now they bang on his cell and shout Ackerman is going to eat your brains."

Fritzl's trial is set to take place in February after Court officials have been given the psychiatric report which was the last piece of evidence they had been waiting for. The report by Doctor Adelheid Kastner concludes that Fritzl was sane and fully responsible for his actions when he imprisoned his daughter for 24 years and raped her repeatedly, forcing her to have seven children underground.

The conclusion means he will be tried in a regular court. But a psychiatric report also recommends that if convicted he is locked up in a high security hospital for the psychologically disturbed.

In Austria there is only one such place, the high security mental asylum at Goellersdorf where Austria's cannibal killer is also incarcerated.

Staff at the institution are also unhappy about learning that Fritzl will end up there if, as is certain to be the case, he is convicted.

Spokesman Johann Winkelbauer said: "From the end of the year our budget is set to be cut massively and we are unlikely to lose 15 psychiatrists and face other cutbacks." He warned it was already difficult to guarantee the safety and well-being of those inside and that further cuts would make it almost impossible.

Fritzl is hoping he will not be jailed for more than 10 years -- the maximum he can face for rape in Austria -- and is still entertaining ideas that he might eventually be released. But the thought of spending that time with mental patients instead of in a regular jail has left him terrified.

He has already spent more than a year in jail for a previous rape conviction and has also settled into a routine in the jail in St Pölten where he's been since his arrest in April.

Austrian Times

Bulgarian cigarette smugglers arrested
Two Bulgarians have been arrested after trying to smuggle more than 35,000 cartons of cigarettes to the UK.

ChemFreight acquires Logwin's Krems facility
Goods transport firm ChemFreight Transport, Logistik & Waggonvermietung GmbH said today (Tues) it had bought freight firm Logwin’s facility in Krems, Lower Austria, after approval of the deal by the Austrian competition authority.

Crooks behind 47 Styrian robberies arrested
Crooks behind almost 50 burglaries in Styria have been arrested, police said today (Tues).

Beer quarrel ends in axe murder
A 20-year-old hacked his mum’s boyfriend to death with an axe in after accusing him of drinking his beer, police have said.

Artec starts bankruptcy proceedings
Machine builder Artec Maschinenbau GmbH entered bankruptcy proceedings today (Tues) in Upper Austria, according to the Credit Protection Agency of 1870 (KSV) and Creditreform.

Inner tube sledge girl seriously injured
A nine-year-old is in hospital with serious injuries after she crashed into a tree as she sledged on a tyre’s inner tube.

Post to pay employees huge bonus for police work
The Austrian postal service (Post) is to pay its employees a bonus of 10,000 Euros to transfer to police work, according to today’s (Tues) edition of the newspaper Salzburger Nachrichten.

Flight bookings up
Travel agencies have reported an increase in flight bookings, according to booking platform Amadeus Austria.

A piece of heaven for the ice skaters
For anybody who likes ice skating and fancies something a bit different than the regular rink or the crowded location at the front of the Vienna City Hall might want to consider a visit to Engelmann.

Stevens extends Red Bull contract
Huub Stevens has extended his contract with champions Red Bull Salzburg, it was announced today (Tues).