ROUNDUP: Austria's incest case: Fritzl sentenced to life for murder

Austria's incest case: Fritzl sentenced to life for murderSt Poelten, Austria - Josef Fritzl was found guilty Thursday of murder through neglect and sentenced to lifelong imprisonment, for the death of a baby he fathered with his daughter Elisabeth, in a windowless dungeon below his house.

The 73-year-old Austrian was also found guilty on all other counts of slavery, rape, incest and false imprisonment, charges he had confessed to Wednesday.

An eight-member jury unanimously reached the guilty verdict on the fourth day of the trial that was held in the town of St Poelten in the province of Lower Austria.

Court representatives said Fritzl appeared "composed" as his sentence was read out.

Fritzl immediately accepted the sentence, as did the prosecution, meaning that it is legally binding and ruling out any right of appeal.

Under Austrian law, all sentences will run concurrently. The court has ordered for Fritzl to be committed to an institution for mentally abnormal offenders.

Fritzl is initially due a psychological assessment, to ascertain whether he is capable and motivated to undergo therapy, how dangerous he is, and to what degree he could be rehabilitated.

This evaluation will determine in which of Austria's penal institutions Fritzl will carry out his sentence.

In the meantime, the former engineer has been placed on suicide alert, a spokesman for the judiciary said.

In theory, it is possible for Fritzl to be released early, court spokesman Franz Cutka told a press conference after the verdict. If Fritzl were deemed to be successfully rehabilitated, he would initially be transferred to a regular prison.

Fritzl would have to carry out at least 15 years of his murder sentence, Cutka said.

Fritzl gained worldwide notoriety in 2008 when his daughter Elisabeth and three of her children emerged from captivity in a windowless dungeon below the Fritzl family home in the Austrian town of Amstetten.

In 1984, Fritzl had lured his then 18-year-old daughter into the cellar and, in the years that followed, raped her about 3,000 times. He fathered seven children with her, of whom six survived.

Three of the children remained underground with their mother, while three were raised by Fritzl and his wife after he claimed they had been left on the doorstep of their home.

It is unclear whether Fritzl's wife could be charged in relation to the case.

Elisabeth's son Michael was born with respiratory problems in 1996, and lived for just 66 hours after Elisabeth's pleas for medical aid went unanswered.

Elisabeth's lawyer Eva Plaz had supported the murder charge in court. "Michael died in agony and my client had to watch him in the process for several days," Plaz told the jury.

Fritzl's defence lawyer, Rudolf Mayer, confirmed Thursday that Elisabeth had been present for part of the trial.

"This is what triggered the agitation that led him to confess," Mayer told German n-tv news channel, referring to his client's surprising change of heart.

Addressing the jury before they considered their verdict, Fritzl said Thursday he was sorry.

"I regret with my whole heart what I did to my family. I can unfortunately not make it better again. I can only seek to reduce the damage if possible," the 73-year-old told the court.

"A dark chapter in the history of our town is now closed," said Amstetten Mayor Herbert Katzengruber after the guilty verdict was announced. "We all hoped it would turn out this way." (dpa)

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