Dungeon dad declared clinically 'sane and fit' for trial

London, Oct 15 : A court-appointed psychiatrist has declared Josef Fritzl, the Austrian incest fiend, clinically sane and fit for a trial.

Police discovered earlier this year that the 73-year-old had kept his daughter, Elisabeth Fritzl, in a cellar under his house in Amstetten for 24 years, where he had seven children with her, one of which, a baby boy called Michael, died shortly after birth and he burned his body in a heating oven.

Fritzl, who has confessed most of the allegations, was neither mentally ill, nor could he have been in a permanent state of inebriation over 24 years, the psychiatrist's report stated, reports the Telegraph.

The forensic psychiatrist who examined the retired engineer and property developer in several in-depth sessions has now filed her report to the court in the regional capital St Poelten, declaring Fritzl "fully responsible for his actions".

Fritzl is reported to have been "very cooperative" during the psychiatric examination.

After receiving the forensic psychiatrist report, Austrian prosecutors are now completing the charges, which will include rape with impregnation, incarceration, coercion and incest.

Fritzl is also facing charges of manslaughter for the baby that died, and also of slavery, according to an antiquated Penal Code paragraph that has not been used before.

Austrian law, unlike British law, does not allow for multiple convictions, and Fritzl is only facing 15 years if convicted of rape. If charged and convicted of manslaughter, he could face life in prison.

A spokesman for the court said that the trial is now most likely to be scheduled sometime at the beginning of next year.

ANI