Gathering Evidence
Once they had Elisabeth’s testimony and access to the basement, the police knew they needed hard evidence to ensure Fritzl received the punishment he deserved. They retrieved DNA from Elisabeth’s six surviving children to prove that Josef was their biological father, which backed up her harrowing story.
Josef’s attorney, Rudolf Mayer, disputed the claims from the beginning, arguing that it meant nothing if the children were proven to be Josef’s biological children. Nevertheless, the police investigating this awful case knew there was enough evidence for a trial.
