Austrian scandal � how can anyone not have known?

[AB Asks]

The story has sent tremors around the world. An Austrian man has reportedly imprisoned, tortured and abused his own daughter for the last 24 years. He has allegedly fathered seven children with this daughter, three of which remained in the cellar-prison he had made in his own home. The man kept this a secret claiming that he used the cellar for storage or a place where he drafted up diagrams for machines which he said he sold to firms. No-one was allowed in this cellar. His wife claims she knew nothing of this What do you think? Could something like this be hidden from this woman in her own home?

[Gromit]

No. Burn her burn her!

[4getmenot]

I think because he rented rooms out in the house, that she just thought it was tenanted and when he built different bits he was just doing it up for tenant. An old tenant said he heard banging and saw the father going in and out with wheelbarrows of food, but it was in his contract that he was never to go near the cellar. I�d have had to I�m one of those nosy people that if someone says don�t go near I have to have a peak. The cellar also had one padded room in, I guess this is where she gave birth.

[radiogaga]

the house looks huge too. maybe they only lived i a certain part of it
i guess the wife was living in fear of this obviously very manipulative man.
i suppose she would have had her hands full with all the kids to lok after.
like forget id have had a sneeky peek too.

[figure]

The wife deserves the same punishment as the husband, punishment by torturing them.
Twenty-four years??? Twenty-four years and the wife knew nothing? Didn't she ever leave the house within that twenty-four years? Why didn't she alert someone, anyone? There are so many questions to be ask ....

[tiggerblue10]

How can the wife not know what was going on. The daughter she gave birth to was locked up for 24 years, no other men went into the "dungeon" and then 7 grandchildren appeared! Is this woman for real???

[Gromit]

Burn her! Burn her!

[Oneeyedvic]

Another good reason why we should pull out of Europe and stop all immigration.

He might have moved here (and would probably be claiming child support).

Burn her and all the children. Lets make sure they can't breed in case there are any damaged genes.

[naomi24]

That the wife claims to have known nothing is the most confusing part. If a daughter suddenly disappeared, wouldn't a mother want to find out where she had gone? I know if my daughter went missing, I'd move heaven and earth - and cellar doors - to find her - and I wouldn't rest until I did.

[daffy654]

They apparently had lodgers living there over the years and none of them did anything about it either,I wonder if they were involved in it all?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7377344.stm

[daisycup]

It would be interesting to see what poor Elizabeth looks like now. No one deserves to go through that, my heart goes out to her and her children.

[blondie83]

I don't believe that this could have been kept a secret for this long. Surely the wife would thing it's a bit suss when he turns up with the 3 kids, even if he did make up a reason as to why they were there. It all sounds very dodgy to me. There must have been someone who knew.

[weeal]

It is one disgusting story isnt it. I cannot for the life of me imagine how the creep's wife couldnt have known or suspected something at least over such a long time.
He brought 3 children into the house, she must have wanted to follow that up, see that her daughter was ok surely. The only reason i can think of is that her husband terrified her in some way maybe, in which case she has still covered this up. she didnt protect her daughter.

[Ethel]

The mother believed the daughter had left home because the daughter was forced to leave a letter saying that was so. At this time the daughter was an adult and adult children going missing all over the world every year.

The grandchildren were explained by the father claiming the daughter had abandoned them on the doorstep in the dead of night because she could not cope.

The basement was soundproofed.

Anyone going in to the basement would see a workshop. Nothing exceptional about that.

The door to the hideaway was 3 feet high and hidden from view. Nobody had any reason to look for it.

The police believe the woman knew nothing and is a much a victim as the rest of the family.

I see no reason to doubt that.

[naomi24]

Ah, thanks for that explanation about the daughter leaving home, Ethel. That explains her failure to search.

[tigerlily11]

You would be suprised at just how devious and smart these men are. I speak from experiance of a sort. Abusers in general are liars and lot of them are grand masters at deception. They will lie and cheat to degrees that are unimaginable as displayed here and in a lot of cases.
There is every cahnce that the wife knew nothing about it and anyone who has been at the mercy of these kinds of men would know just how easy it is for them to pul the wool and just what extremes they will go to to hide their evil perversions.

[scorpious321]

I do think its a bit strange that his wife new nothing about it at all especial after 24 years.
The sad thing is it makes you think that when you see on tv that all these people go missing each year has some nutter got them locked up some where in this same situation

[4getmenot]

The thing is if anything had happened to him outside what would have happened to all of them, I dread to think. Also I was wondering why she didnt attack him but then I guess he came in locked the door with the code and if she had have killed him she'd have never have got out

[Le Chat]

The father had been abusing the daughter since she was 11, so 7 years of abuse had gone on before she ended up in the cellar. The wife, even if she genuinely didn't know about the cellar, must have either known or suspected that her husband was abusing their daughter. Even if she didn't know for definite, she must have had an inkling. I find that part of it harder to believe than her not knowing about the cellar.

[Janderson]

The wife of this monster must have many opportunities to talk alone with the 3 children that were "dumped" on the doorstep. Surely those 3 children would have spoken about how they had been living. They would have shown some recognition of her husband since he visited them often in the cellar. NO the actions of the wife do not reflect an innocent person. I am do not believe the Austrian police authorities taking up valuable international TV coverage and saying, so quickly and so adamantly that she is completely innocent

[Ice.Maiden]

I wouldn't like to point the finger at this woman, because it IS possible that she's entirely innocent, however strange it may seem. In the same way, I've never wanted to consider that the McCanns've had anything to do with the disappearance of their daughter, but I remember Gerry saying that his wife had nothing to do with Madeleine going missing. It suddenly struck me that he never said "we", at that stage. None of us like to think that such crimes can be committed without the other half of a couple knowing about it - but without prejudice, it happens.