Austrian incest victims good, doctor says

AMSTETTEN, Austria, April 29 (UPI) -- Police investigating the Austrian accused of imprisoning his daughter for 24 years Tuesday inspected other properties to ensure no other similar cells existed.

Meanwhile, officials in the town where the incest and abuse was revealed said Josef Fritzl's victims -- 42-year-old Elizabeth and six surviving children he fathered -- would be offered new lives and new identities, The Times of London reported.

"The name Fritzl has been muddied," said Hans-Heinz Lenze, social services chief in Amstetten. He said the family would "decide its own future."

Elisabeth Fritzl told police her father got her into the basement of their home in in 1984, drugged and handcuffed her, then imprisoned her for two dozen years. She is thought to have delivered seven children, including a boy who died shortly after birth and whose body was burned in a furnace, the Times reported.

Police said Fritzl confessed to keeping his daughter captive and fathering the children.

Elizabeth Fritzl and the children were taken to Mostviertel Amstetten-Mauer, where Dr. Berthold Kepplinger, head of facility's neuropsychiatric clinic, reported, "They are in surprisingly good shape, considering the circumstances."

Fritzl, 73, was remanded in custody for 14 days after a court appearance Tuesday.