Vienna - Alleged multiple rapist Josef Fritzl, 73, who fathered seven children with his daughter whom he subjected to 24 years in a windowless dungeon, is attempting to cast himself as a lifesaver, according to Austrian press reports Wednesday. In remarks carried by the Austrian tabloid Oesterreich, Fritzl's lawyer Rudolf Mayer passed on comments by the accused in which he blasts media coverage of the case as being one-sided.
"I am no monster," Fritzl is quoted as saying by the paper. His main argument is that 19-year-old Kerstin, the oldest girl he fathered with his daughter who is currently in intensive care in a local hospital in the town Amstetten, actually owed him her life.
"Without me, she would be be dead. It was me, after all, who made sure she was brought to hospital," he said.
Kerstin, and two other of her siblings were imprisoned by their father for all their lives together with their mother.
Fritzl's ruse that his "missing" daughter Elisabeth had abandoned the unconscious girl at his doorstep and asked him to bring her to hospital triggered a search for the mother which eventually unravelled the horrific crime.
He was also quoted as saying that that he could have killed everyone and "no-one would have found out anything."
"I could have killed them all, then nothing would have happened, and I would not sit here. But I brought Kerstin to hospital," he said according to the paper.
Officials did not confirm the remarks. They also declined to comment on other news reports that Fritzl may have also abused Kerstin, saying there had been no opportunity to talk to the girl, as she remained in an artificially induced coma.
Fritzl, who is currently being detained at a prison in the provincial capital St Poelten, will be interviewed by prosecutors on Wednesday. On Friday a decision on extending his detention period will be made.
Elisabeth, 42, and her five other children are receiving therapy at a clinic near Amstetten. Police stepped up security around the Amstetten-Mauer clinic to prevent paparazzi from invading the grounds.
Hospital officials said that their state of health remained unchanged and urged the public and media to respect the victims' privacy.
