Tenant Stayed Silent in Austrian House

New testimony is emerging in the case of Josef Fritzl, a 73-year-old Austrian man who imprisoned and raped his own daughter for 12 years in an underground dungeon. A tenant living in the home of Josef Fritzl has said that he heard knocking on the walls and saw suspicious nighttime behavior from Mr. Fritzl.

Speaking to the press, the tenant Alfred Dubanovsky said, "who would ever believe something so terrible was going on right under my feet? It is a regret I will have to live with for the rest of my life."

Alfred Dubanovsky, 42, expressed his regret, having watched Josef Fritzl run covered wheelbarrows of food into his Amstetten, Austria apartment for 12 years. The drop-offs were always at night. Fritzl, Dubanovsky’s landlord, had been keeping his daughter, Elisabeth, trapped in his cellar.

Now Dubanovsky regrets that he didn’t put the pieces together, saying, "I wish to God that I could turn back the clock. The signs were all there but it was impossible for me to recognize them.”

Elisabeth was imprisoned from age 12. She had been handcuffed, drugged, and lured in by her father in 1984. She is now 42. Investigators are referring to her quarters as “a torture den.” He also commented that Elisabeth was “his favourite child because she was so pretty.”

In his defense, Dubanovsky points out his restricted access to the area where Elisabeth was held. He said: “Herr Fritzl banned any of the tenants of the eight flats from going anywhere near the cellar of back yard.”

Dubanovsky works as a filling station attendant near the apartment. Fritzl had told him the cellar door was alarmed and anyone who approached it would set off an alarm and have their contract cancelled without notice.

Fritzl, 73, had taken meticulous care in the cellar’s construction. He applied for permits in 1978 under the premise that it was for protection “in case of a nuclear attack.” The fact that he paid such close attention to council laws is a testament to his disgruntled nature. The scheme was pre-meditated six years in advance.

Villagers in Amstetten held a candlelight vigil to express sympathy for the family last night. 200 villagers were in attendance on the rainy Austrian evening.

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