More questions than answers in Austria incest case

By Karin Strohecker

VIENNA (Reuters) - Watching the gruesome details of the Austrian incest case unfold, one question is on many people's minds: "How could this be allowed to happen?"

The plight of Elisabeth Fritzl, who was held by her own father for 24 years in a windowless prison and bore him 7 children, has set a new standard for criminal depravity in postwar Austria following the case of Natascha Kampusch, who escaped in 2006 after being held for eight years in a basement.

While the Kampusch case was widely regarded as the exceptional crime of a twisted loner, Austrians are now faced with a case even more unfathomable within less than two years.

Hours after the case came to light in the town of Amstetten, officials, police and even the victims' lawyer lined up to say that no one but the suspect could possibly be at fault; Josef Fritzl, now 73, had simply outsmarted them all.

In his first public reaction, Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer expressed great concern for the victims and quickly announced a campaign to repair Austria's image abroad.

Much to the surprise of international media and anger of welfare charities, there seems to be little effort to investigate the circumstances that might have allowed the crime to go unnoticed by neighbours and authorities alike.

"The story of Elisabeth F. shows that unanswered questions and neglected inquiries made it possible for the father to continue his abuse," said Hedwig Woelfl, head of research at the Austrian child protection charity Moewe. "The aid network failed in terms of bringing the information together."

Elisabeth's disappearance should have been a clear sign that something was wrong, but apparently nobody was interested in the teenage girl, and the family, the town, the authorities and the country itself did not ask enough questions, she said.