Austrian father Fritzel charged with murder, enslavement

Prosecutors filed a murder charge Thursday against the man accused of imprisoning his daughter for 24 years and fathering her seven children, saying one of the youngsters who died in infancy might have survived if brought to a doctor.

Josef Fritzl “deliberately decided not to intervene” and save the infant’s life, said the indictment, which also charges the 73-year-old retired electrician with rape, incest, false imprisonment and enslavement.

Officials said they expected Fritzl to go on trial in March. He faces up to life imprisonment if convicted of the murder charge. Austria, like other European countries, does not have the death penalty.

Police say Fritzl told them he tossed the body of the infant boy into a furnace in 1996 after the baby became ill and died. They say DNA tests have confirmed he is the biological father of the six surviving children.