If a story was brought to a movie producer about a father who imprisons his daughter for nearly a quarter of a century, rapes her constantly over that period, and out of that abuse comes not one, but seven children, the producer would find it way too fantastic, and laugh the creator out of the office. I am beyond any logical words in saying that this story is true.
In Austria this week, the above details did happen to a young woman who was 18 years old at the time. Her father abducted her, locked her in a cellar and repeatedly raped her, allowing children to be born into this prison of a world, and suffer alongside their mother; his daughter.
We hear of abuse cases all the time, and everytime it is tragic, and deperately upsetting. But this case goes beyond disturbing, and you have to seriously wonder what has gone through the mind of this man that he even thought of, let alone went through with, this hideous, evil act.
Unfortunately, these bizarre, tragic events are frighteningly not uncommon, and I can now understand why a close friend of mine, true crime author Vikki Petraitis, is fascinated with these sorts of crimes, and the mind of the perpetrator. Apart from being disgusted and appalled beyond belief, we do have a morbid curiosity. We want, if not need, to know why anyone could ever do this.
We all have a very clear idea about what we see as a crime; especially an horrific crime. But something like this puts us in a place we simply cannot fathom at any level. A different case, but similar in its extraordinary level of twistedness and horror, was the case of the German man who wanted to eat someone. Amazingly, he went into an internet chat room and found like minded people. He then finds someone, and, without going into the gory – and it was gory – details, fulfils his fantasy, resulting obviously in the death of his willing partner.
There is one burning question that we all ask when we hear or see something like this. Why? We all have moments when our minds travel slightly outside the norm, whether they be sexual fantasies, or fantasies of some other kind. But most of us have limits, and know when something is just not right. What was this father thinking? How long was he planning to do this for? Why did he feel compelled to do this? How could he continue his own life upstairs, while he had a virtual community living in the cellar?
The most tragic thing about this case is the daughter and her six children/brothers & sisters(one died shortly after birth). After 24 years of unspeakable abuse, and horror, it will not be possible for them to even vaguely achieve a normal existence. What about the mother, the man’s wife, who was totally oblivious to all that was going on? What mental anguish would she be going through?
With cases like this, our minds simply do not have the capacity to cope with the complexities. It is so far outside the realms of our understanding, that we simply sit, watch, read, listen, and try to come to grips with the fact that while we were enjoying ourselves in all sorts of ways over the last 24 years, one woman was suffering beyond all measure. Through all the changes that come with the passage of time, her changes have consisted of a new child’s face.
All we can hope for is that in some way, just some way, this tragic family can find some semblance of inner peace, and that this animal of a human being who calls himself a ‘father’, receives the harshest penalty that the Austrian justice system can allow. Do I want him dead? Oh no. I want him to spend the rest of his life in amongst the common prison population, who would be fully aware of exactly what he is in there for. That is far, far worse than a death sentence.
Enjoy your day.
