Fritzl girl awakes from coma

2008-06-10 14:00

Vienna - The 19-year-old daughter of Josef Fritzl, whose hospitalisation in April brought to light a shocking Austrian incest case, has awoken from a coma and left the hospital, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Kerstin, who was born from Fritzl's decades-long incestuous relationship with his daughter Elisabeth and spent her entire life locked up in a cellar with her mother and two siblings, "was woken up from her artificially-induced coma", said Klaus Schwertner, a spokesperson for the hospital in Amstetten.

She had left the hospital "a few days ago" but still needs medical and therapeutic care, he added, without giving details.

A press conference about Kerstin's health was scheduled for Wednesday.

The young woman was admitted to hospital in Amstetten, 100km west of Vienna, on April 19 in an unconscious state.

She was later placed in intensive care on a life-support machine, as doctors deemed her condition life-threatening.

But the hospital announced in late May that they would start waking her up from her coma.

Kerstin is the eldest of seven children born to Elisabeth Fritzl, now 42, during the 24 years she was sequestered in an underground cell of the family home and sexually abused by her father Josef, 73.

It was Kerstin's admission to hospital that brought the entire case to light.

The young woman and two of her brothers, aged 18 and five, had until then spent their entire lives in the cellar with their mother, never seeing sunlight.

Three other children born from the incest were brought to live with Josef Fritzl and his wife, while a seventh child died shortly after birth.

Kerstin's mother and siblings are currently staying at a nearby psychiatric clinic where the children are receiving tutoring.

Rumours that Kerstin had been moved to the same clinic were not confirmed on Tuesday either by the Amstetten hospital or the family's lawyer.

Fritzl, meanwhile remains in custody, pending charges.

- AFP