Secrets in the Cellar by John Glatt

Author:John Glatt
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi

CHAPTER 16

Into the Light

At the Fritzl family reunion that Christmas, Josef solemnly announced that he had received a new letter from Elisabeth. She had finally come to her senses, and was now considering leaving the cult to come home with her three children. Over the next few months he spoke of little else, paving the way for their entry into the world.

But at the beginning of April 2008, his carefully laid plans were thrown into disarray when Kerstin became dangerously ill and started having seizures, due to lack of fresh oxygen. Elisabeth gave her aspirin, which was no help whatsoever in fighting the infection.

Kerstin then had a complete mental and physical breakdown, and began tearing out her own hair in clumps. Then, to protest her abysmal living conditions, she ripped off her clothes, throwing them into the toilet to block it up.

Her mother could do little except watch her eldest daughter’s condition deteriorate, and try to comfort her between her seizures.

On Wednesday, April 16, Elisabeth’s 42nd birthday, her father came into the cellar bearing a present. She then begged him to set Kerstin free, so she could get medical treatment. It was now painfully obvious just how ill the 19-year-old girl was, and Fritzl knew she could no longer survive in the cellar.

Nevertheless, he decided to wait until Rosemarie left on her annual vacation to northern Italy with a friend. He reasoned that this would give him ample time to take her to the hospital and have her treated, before bringing her back into the cellar to stage their return.

The following Friday night, after Rosemarie departed for Italy, Kerstin’s condition deteriorated further. She began cramping and having convulsions, biting her lips until they bled. Then she lost consciousness.

Once again, Elisabeth tearfully pleaded with her father to take Kerstin to the hospital and save her life. Finally he agreed, instinctively adapting his plans to suit the emergency situation.

But first he dictated a note for Elisabeth to write, explaining Kerstin’s predicament to doctors.

“Please help her,” it read. “She has never been in a hospital before.”

As he was no longer strong enough to carry Kerstin out of the cellar and upstairs on his own, he asked Elisabeth to help him.

And so, in the early hours of Saturday, April 19, Elisabeth Fritzl finally came back into the light, after spending more than half her life in the underground cellar. It was the first time in twenty-four years that she had seen natural light and breathed fresh air.

But her taste of freedom would be short-lived. For as soon as she helped her father lay Kerstin out on the doorstep, he led her back into the dungeon, slamming the concrete door on her once again.

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