Last Podcast On The Left
Last Podcast On The Left
"The thing about Kirsten, though, is that the child gave Fritzel even more control over his daughter. After Kirsten was born, Elizabeth did whatever it took to keep her alive and with each success of child, Fritzel's control only increased." — Ed Larson
"The tenants who lived in the apartments attached to the Fritzel home also had high, unexplainable electric bills. This goes to your point. These came because Fretzel had rerouted electricity from the apartments down to the dungeon, meaning that the tenants were partially and unwittingly funding Fritzel's extreme sexual deviants." — Henry Zabrasky
"The children he moved upstairs were the ones that he would want to sleep with or to keep those downstairs. God. I hate that question. I can answer that question as well. We may have two different answers, but I have an answer as well. I believe that they were the ones who was acclimating to real life that he would maybe pruse in a tender-like fashion. Okay. I believe the ones that he had an eye on, he kept downstairs." — Henry Zabrasky
This episode delves into the disturbing continuation of Josef Fritzel's crimes, detailing the births and early lives of his children within the subterranean prison he constructed for his daughter, Elizabeth. The narrative highlights the extreme deprivation and abuse these children endured, including lack of sunlight, fresh air, proper nutrition, and constant psychological torment. Fritzel's methods of control extended to manipulating the children's understanding of reality, fabricating stories, and exploiting his tenants by rerouting electricity to power the dungeon. The episode also touches upon the parallel case of Natasha Kampush, drawing comparisons in the nature of these crimes and the methods of perpetrators.
The discussion elaborates on Fritzel's calculated efforts to maintain his facade of a normal family man while engaging in systematic abuse. This included fabricating notes from Elizabeth to explain the disappearance of children and deceiving authorities through calculated adoption processes. The physical and psychological toll on Elizabeth and her children is emphasized, with details about their failing health and the profound impact of their confinement on their development and perception of the world. The episode underscores the chilling effectiveness of Fritzel's deception, which allowed him to operate undetected for years.
Furthermore, the episode explores Fritzel's personal habits and the societal context that may have contributed to the prolonged concealment of his crimes. It touches upon his vanity, his financial struggles, and the tendency of those around him to overlook suspicious circumstances, often attributing them to the eccentricity of a wealthy businessman. The narrative also contrasts Fritzel's actions with those of another perpetrator, Wolfgang Pricklipian, and discusses the eventual discovery of the Fritzel family and the beginning of the unraveling of his carefully constructed lies, spurred by the escalating severity of his actions.