Son-in-law: Fritzl 'outgoing, friendly'

TRAUN, Austria, May 7 (UPI) -- The son-in-law of Josef Fritzl says he and his wife had no idea her sister was locked up in an Austrian cellar for 20 years, bearing her father's children.

Horst Herlbauer is the first member of Fritzl's family to talk publicly about the case, the Mirror reported Wednesday.

"We always believed Elisabeth had run away and not come back, everybody did," he said. "That was the truth to us, and we didn't question it, even when some of her children appeared and were adopted into the family."

Fritzl allegedly imprisoned his daughter and three of her children. He forced Elisabeth to write notes about the other three to make it look like she had left them with her parents.

His father-in-law was "outgoing, friendly and popular with the neighbors," Herlbauer said.

Herlbauer said the revelations have been traumatic for his wife, who has gone into seclusion.

"It's impossible to describe the mental torture and anguish she's been through," he said. "It's beyond words. It's unreal. The whole family needs time to get over this."