Dungeon dad wants to sell properties to raise money for tormented family

London, Oct 3 : Austrian incest fiend Josef Fritzl is planning to sell his properties in a bid to raise money for his tormented family, it has emerged.

The 73-year-old retired engineer and property developer imprisoned his daughter Elisabeth, 42, in a purpose-built dungeon in the cellar of his home in the town of Amstetten for more than 24 years, and fathered seven kids with her.

One of Elisabeth's children died shortly after being born - and Fritzl burned his body in a heating oven.

Now, according to Austrian press reports, he is seeking to sell his five houses in and around Amstetten in Lower Austria to secure the future of his daughter Elisabeth and her six surviving children, as well as his wife Rosemarie, 69, reports Telegraph.

The properties, all of which are apartment houses for rent, are mortgaged with 2.2 million euros, but Fritzl's representatives reportedly claim that they could be sold for an amount that would be sufficient to cover the debt and provide the family with a solid income.

In order to handle financial affairs and deal with real estate, Fritzl hired a Viennese last month.

According to reports, the sixth house he owns, the former Fritzl family home in the Ybbstrasse 40 in Amstetten where he kept his captive family hostages, now deemed the House of Horrors by the press, will be rented out.

According to Austrian law, Fritzl can conduct his businesses and dispose with his properties even if he is convicted to a lengthy prison sentence.

He is facing charges for manslaughter for the baby that died, as well as rape, incarceration, coercion and incest.

The trial is then likely to take place in December or at the beginning of next year.

ANI