Homicide alleged in cellar incest case

VIENNA, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- A 73-year-old Austrian man accused of keeping his daughter prisoner in a cellar has been charged for allegedly killing a newborn, court records show.

Josef Fritzl Thursday was charged with allegedly killing one of the seven children he fathered with his daughter after he refused to seek treatment for the ailing baby, The Times of London said.

The newborn died in 1996 at the family's home in the Austrian town of Amstetten, prosecutors say.

Fritzl had previously told investigators that the baby had allegedly died before being born and he cremated its body inside the home's stove.

Fritzl was arrested earlier this year after his daughter, Elisabeth, accused him of keeping her locked inside a soundproofed cellar for 24 years to be used as a sex slave.

Charges filed against Fritzl included rape, false imprisonment and incest.

The Times said the man's trial is expected to begin in early 2009 following a recent ruling that the senior citizen is mentally fit to stand trial on all criminal charges.