Cellar incest family to change names

AMSTETTEN, Austria, May 29 (UPI) -- Relatives of an Austrian man jailed for raping and imprisoning his daughter have the option of changing their names to make a fresh start, officials say.

The family members of Josef Fritzl, 73, only need to finish signing documents for their new identities to be in place, Sky News reported Thursday.

It is reported Fritzl imprisoned his daughter in the basement of their home in Amstetten, Austria, for 24 years.

Fritzl admitted to trapping his daughter in the cellar since she was 18, where he frequently raped her and impregnated her seven times.

One of the children died shortly after being born, while three led "normal" lives in the upper floor of the home, the report said.

The remaining three children and their mother were kept in the basement, authorities said.

Authorities were alerted of the family's situation when the oldest child, Kerstin, 19, went to the hospital April 19, to be treated for an illness.