And this is how it began;

28 August 1984

Mr Fritzl lures his daughter Elisabeth into the cellar of their house, drugging and handcuffing her before locking her up. Elisabeth later tells investigators she was sexually abused by her father even before he incarcerated her.

Date unknown

Mr Fritzl and his wife Rosemarie receive a letter in Elisabeth’s handwriting saying they should not try to look for her. Rosemarie is unaware of the truth, Elisabeth later tells police.

1988-89 (approximately)

Kerstin, the first of seven reported children, is secretly born (exact date unknown) and raised in the cellar. She is followed shortly by a brother.

1993

A baby is discovered outside the family home along with a letter from Elisabeth saying she cannot care for it. It is taken in by Mr Fritzl and his wife. A second infant appears in 1994. Both are either fostered or adopted, and are raised by their grandparents.

1996

Twins are born to Elisabeth but one dies shortly after birth. The body is allegedly taken away and disposed of in an incinerator by Mr Fritzl.

1997

A third infant appears at the house, and is taken in like the previous two, to be raised by grandparents.

1998

According to media reports Mr Fritzl goes to Thailand for four weeks, one of several such trips. Officials have said the hidden family may have been left with food stores to see them through such absences.

2003

A letter arrives from Elisabeth to say she had another baby in December 2002. This child is believed to have been brought up in the cellar along with Kerstin and her brother.

Saturday 19 April 2008

Police issue an appeal to missing person Elisabeth Fritzl to contact them about her daughter Kerstin, who has been admitted to hospital in Amstetten with a serious illness. Mr Fritzl had told staff her mother was unable and unwilling to look after the 19-year-old and had left her in front of his house.

19-26 April

At some point during the week, according to the police statement, Mr Fritzl releases Elisabeth and the two other children from the cellar, telling his wife Rosemarie she has chosen to return home.

Saturday 26 April

Police pick up Mr Fritzl and Elisabeth near the Amstetten hospital where Kerstin is being treated. Elisabeth’s children are found at the house. Josef Fritzl’s double life unravelled after a daughter was taken to this hospital

Sunday 27 April

Police announce the arrest of Mr Fritzl on suspicion of incest and abduction. All the children are placed in care and Elisabeth is given medical and psychological treatment. Mr Fritz gives police the code to unlock a hidden door to a basement living space made up of a network of tiny windowless chambers. All the children except Kerstin meet for the first time, and Elisabeth is reunited with her mother.

Monday 28 April

Mr Fritzl confesses to imprisoning Elisabeth in a cellar for 24 years and fathering her seven children. He confirms to investigators that one of their children died in infancy and that he had taken the dead body and thrown it into an incinerator. The access door to the cellar was hidden behind shelving

Tuesday 29 April

Police announce that DNA tests confirm that Mr Fritzl is the father of Elisabeth’s children.

As Kerstin remains in hospital, in a serious but stable condition, Mr Fritzl appears before a magistrate and is remanded in custody.

Officials report an “astonishing” reunion between Elisabeth, now 42, and two of the three children who had lived with her in the cellar – the 18- and five-year-old brothers – with her other children.

Later in the day hundreds of people in Amstetten take part in a candle-lit gathering – organised by a local convent school – to express their solidarity and outrage.

Wednesday 30 April

Police say Mr Fritzl is refusing to answer any questions in the wake of his initial signed confession. His daughter and the children are being looked after together in the isolated wing of a medical clinic, under the 24-hour supervision of a multi-disciplinary care team. Those held captive are getting used to space, light and especially the different food, officials say. An improvised birthday party has been held for the 12-year-old.

Elisabeth and the children are now in care with the Austrian authorities, who are protecting their privacy at a psychiatric clinic. The oldest daughter, Kerstin, is fighting for her life in hospital.

And the monster?

The father faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on enjoy charges, the most grave of his alleged offenses. However, prosecutors are investigating whether he can be charged with “murder through failure to act” in connection with the infant’s death, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

And this is how it began;

28 August 1984

Mr Fritzl lures his daughter Elisabeth into the cellar of their house, drugging and handcuffing her before locking her up. Elisabeth later tells investigators she was sexually abused by her father even before he incarcerated her.

Date unknown

Mr Fritzl and his wife Rosemarie receive a letter in Elisabeth’s handwriting saying they should not try to look for her. Rosemarie is unaware of the truth, Elisabeth later tells police.

1988-89 (approximately)

Kerstin, the first of seven reported children, is secretly born (exact date unknown) and raised in the cellar. She is followed shortly by a brother.

1993

A baby is discovered outside the family home along with a letter from Elisabeth saying she cannot care for it. It is taken in by Mr Fritzl and his wife. A second infant appears in 1994. Both are either fostered or adopted, and are raised by their grandparents.

1996

Twins are born to Elisabeth but one dies shortly after birth. The body is allegedly taken away and disposed of in an incinerator by Mr Fritzl.

1997

A third infant appears at the house, and is taken in like the previous two, to be raised by grandparents.

1998

According to media reports Mr Fritzl goes to Thailand for four weeks, one of several such trips. Officials have said the hidden family may have been left with food stores to see them through such absences.

2003

A letter arrives from Elisabeth to say she had another baby in December 2002. This child is believed to have been brought up in the cellar along with Kerstin and her brother.

Saturday 19 April 2008

Police issue an appeal to missing person Elisabeth Fritzl to contact them about her daughter Kerstin, who has been admitted to hospital in Amstetten with a serious illness. Mr Fritzl had told staff her mother was unable and unwilling to look after the 19-year-old and had left her in front of his house.

19-26 April

At some point during the week, according to the police statement, Mr Fritzl releases Elisabeth and the two other children from the cellar, telling his wife Rosemarie she has chosen to return home.

Saturday 26 April

Police pick up Mr Fritzl and Elisabeth near the Amstetten hospital where Kerstin is being treated. Elisabeth’s children are found at the house. Josef Fritzl’s double life unravelled after a daughter was taken to this hospital

Sunday 27 April

Police announce the arrest of Mr Fritzl on suspicion of incest and abduction. All the children are placed in care and Elisabeth is given medical and psychological treatment. Mr Fritz gives police the code to unlock a hidden door to a basement living space made up of a network of tiny windowless chambers. All the children except Kerstin meet for the first time, and Elisabeth is reunited with her mother.

Monday 28 April

Mr Fritzl confesses to imprisoning Elisabeth in a cellar for 24 years and fathering her seven children. He confirms to investigators that one of their children died in infancy and that he had taken the dead body and thrown it into an incinerator. The access door to the cellar was hidden behind shelving

Tuesday 29 April

Police announce that DNA tests confirm that Mr Fritzl is the father of Elisabeth’s children.

As Kerstin remains in hospital, in a serious but stable condition, Mr Fritzl appears before a magistrate and is remanded in custody.

Officials report an “astonishing” reunion between Elisabeth, now 42, and two of the three children who had lived with her in the cellar – the 18- and five-year-old brothers – with her other children.

Later in the day hundreds of people in Amstetten take part in a candle-lit gathering – organised by a local convent school – to express their solidarity and outrage.

Wednesday 30 April

Police say Mr Fritzl is refusing to answer any questions in the wake of his initial signed confession. His daughter and the children are being looked after together in the isolated wing of a medical clinic, under the 24-hour supervision of a multi-disciplinary care team. Those held captive are getting used to space, light and especially the different food, officials say. An improvised birthday party has been held for the 12-year-old.

Elisabeth and the children are now in care with the Austrian authorities, who are protecting their privacy at a psychiatric clinic. The oldest daughter, Kerstin, is fighting for her life in hospital.

And the monster?

The father faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on enjoy charges, the most grave of his alleged offenses. However, prosecutors are investigating whether he can be charged with “murder through failure to act” in connection with the infant’s death, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

And this is how it began;

28 August 1984

Mr Fritzl lures his daughter Elisabeth into the cellar of their house, drugging and handcuffing her before locking her up. Elisabeth later tells investigators she was sexually abused by her father even before he incarcerated her.

Date unknown

Mr Fritzl and his wife Rosemarie receive a letter in Elisabeth’s handwriting saying they should not try to look for her. Rosemarie is unaware of the truth, Elisabeth later tells police.

1988-89 (approximately)

Kerstin, the first of seven reported children, is secretly born (exact date unknown) and raised in the cellar. She is followed shortly by a brother.

1993

A baby is discovered outside the family home along with a letter from Elisabeth saying she cannot care for it. It is taken in by Mr Fritzl and his wife. A second infant appears in 1994. Both are either fostered or adopted, and are raised by their grandparents.

1996

Twins are born to Elisabeth but one dies shortly after birth. The body is allegedly taken away and disposed of in an incinerator by Mr Fritzl.

1997

A third infant appears at the house, and is taken in like the previous two, to be raised by grandparents.

1998

According to media reports Mr Fritzl goes to Thailand for four weeks, one of several such trips. Officials have said the hidden family may have been left with food stores to see them through such absences.

2003

A letter arrives from Elisabeth to say she had another baby in December 2002. This child is believed to have been brought up in the cellar along with Kerstin and her brother.

Saturday 19 April 2008

Police issue an appeal to missing person Elisabeth Fritzl to contact them about her daughter Kerstin, who has been admitted to hospital in Amstetten with a serious illness. Mr Fritzl had told staff her mother was unable and unwilling to look after the 19-year-old and had left her in front of his house.

19-26 April

At some point during the week, according to the police statement, Mr Fritzl releases Elisabeth and the two other children from the cellar, telling his wife Rosemarie she has chosen to return home.

Saturday 26 April

Police pick up Mr Fritzl and Elisabeth near the Amstetten hospital where Kerstin is being treated. Elisabeth’s children are found at the house. Josef Fritzl’s double life unravelled after a daughter was taken to this hospital

Sunday 27 April

Police announce the arrest of Mr Fritzl on suspicion of incest and abduction. All the children are placed in care and Elisabeth is given medical and psychological treatment. Mr Fritz gives police the code to unlock a hidden door to a basement living space made up of a network of tiny windowless chambers. All the children except Kerstin meet for the first time, and Elisabeth is reunited with her mother.

Monday 28 April

Mr Fritzl confesses to imprisoning Elisabeth in a cellar for 24 years and fathering her seven children. He confirms to investigators that one of their children died in infancy and that he had taken the dead body and thrown it into an incinerator. The access door to the cellar was hidden behind shelving

Tuesday 29 April

Police announce that DNA tests confirm that Mr Fritzl is the father of Elisabeth’s children.

As Kerstin remains in hospital, in a serious but stable condition, Mr Fritzl appears before a magistrate and is remanded in custody.

Officials report an “astonishing” reunion between Elisabeth, now 42, and two of the three children who had lived with her in the cellar – the 18- and five-year-old brothers – with her other children.

Later in the day hundreds of people in Amstetten take part in a candle-lit gathering – organised by a local convent school – to express their solidarity and outrage.

Wednesday 30 April

Police say Mr Fritzl is refusing to answer any questions in the wake of his initial signed confession. His daughter and the children are being looked after together in the isolated wing of a medical clinic, under the 24-hour supervision of a multi-disciplinary care team. Those held captive are getting used to space, light and especially the different food, officials say. An improvised birthday party has been held for the 12-year-old.

Elisabeth and the children are now in care with the Austrian authorities, who are protecting their privacy at a psychiatric clinic. The oldest daughter, Kerstin, is fighting for her life in hospital.

And the monster?

The father faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on enjoy charges, the most grave of his alleged offenses. However, prosecutors are investigating whether he can be charged with “murder through failure to act” in connection with the infant’s death, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison.