Charges laid in Austria’s Fritzl case

Charges have been formally laid against the Austrian man accused of holding his daughter in a cellar for 24 years and fathering her seven children.

Josef Fritzl will stand trial early next year on several charges including murder, rape, enslavement and incest.

The murder charge relates to the death of one of their children shortly after birth, in the soundproofed basement beneath Fritzl’s house.

The 73-year-old was declared fit to stand trial by a team of pyschiatrists last month. It has been reported that he also confessed to holding his elderly mother captive for years before she died.

Experts say he could face life imprisonment if convicted on the murder charge.

Prosecutors say Fritzl was filmed on holiday with friends while his daughter and their children remained locked in the basement.

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