Josef Fritzl to plead guilty

Defendant Josef Fritzl covers his face
prior to the start of his trial for incest on Monday, March 16, 2009, at
the provincial courthouse in St. Poelten, Austria. The trial has started
Monday in Austria for Fritzl, accused of imprisoning his daughter for 24
years and fathering her seven children.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhuanet) -- Austrian man Josef
Fritzl, who sexually assaulted his daughter, fathered seven children with her
and held her captive in a dungeon for a 24-year period, will plead guilty to
rape and incest when his trial opens Monday.

Attorney Rudolph Mayer said Sunday Fritzl will,
however, contest charges of slavery and the murder of one of the children, which
carries a life sentence.

The 73-year-old expects to spend the rest of his life
in prison, Mayer added.

Defendant Josef Fritzl covers his face
prior to the start of his trial for incest on Monday, March 16, 2009, at
the provincial courthouse in St. Poelten, Austria. (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo)
Photo
Gallery

Fritzl faces six charges including murder,
involvement in slave trade, rape, incest, withdrawal of liberty and assault in a
closed-door trial. If convicted, he could face life in prison. Austria does not
have the death penalty.

The trial is scheduled to last five days, but Mayer
said it could be shorter.

In November, Fritzl was charged with incest and the
repeated rape of his daughter, Elisabeth, over 24 years.

He was also charged with the murder of one of the children he fathered with her, an infant who died soon after birth. State Prosecutor Gerhard Sedlacek said Michael Fritzl died from lack of medical care.

Defendant Josef Fritzl covers his face prior to the start of his trial for incest on Monday, March 16, 2009, at the provincial courthouse in St. Poelten, Austria. The trial has started Monday in Austria for Fritzl, accused of imprisoning his daughter for 24 years and fathering her seven children.(Xinhua/AFP Photo)
Photo Gallery

"This man obviously led a double life for 24 years.
He had a wife and had seven kids with her. And then he had another family with
his daughter, fathered another seven children with her," said Franz Polzer, a
police officer in Amstetten, the town where Fritzl lived, at the time of his
arrest.

The case first came to light in April 2008 when
Elisabeth's daughter, Kerstin, became seriously ill with convulsions. Elisabeth
persuaded her father to allow Kerstin, then 19, to be taken to a hospital for
treatment.

Hospital staff became suspicious of the case and
alerted police, who discovered the family members in the cellar.

(Agencies)