It is too early for the full
story to be told but this is a preliminary discussion of what is
known about the remarkable story of Natascha Kampusch, the
Austrian girl who escaped after being held by her abductor for
eight years.
Natascha was aged only 10 when her relatively safe secure world
collapsed around her. On the morning of 2 March 1996 the little
girl set out for school in the usual way and along a familiar
route. But right in sight of some schoolfriends a white van pulled
up in the street of the Viennese suburb and in moments Natascha
disappeared into its interior. The van sped off and Natascha was
not to be seen again for another eight years. It was believed by
many that she was dead.
When news of the abduction reached police they swung into action.
The owners of more than 1000 white vans scattered throughout
Austria were questioned and even some across the border in
neighbouring Hungary. Every effort was made to find the little
girl. Posters were put up in prominent places, appeals made on
radio and television, but all efforts to find her failed. And now
we know the awful truth - as frantic searchers combed the streets
of the town, virtually beneath their feet was a tiny cell, entered
only through a small hole in a wall, and locked inside that cell
was a frightened and uncomprehending Natascha.
Natascha before her abduction:
Variously described as an engineer
or a communications technician, the abductor was Wolfgang
Priklopil, a loner in his mid-thirties who had evidently become
obsessed with the girl. He was the one who had driven the white
van and had bundled Natascha from the van, down a stairway, into a
purpose-built prison cell or dungeon he had prepared beneath the
garage of his house in Gaenserdorff. One report said that
Priklopil was a distant relative of Natascha, which might explain
how he came to target her. Following Natascha's dramatic escape
neighbours said they had seen Priklopil constructing the cell long
before the girl disappeared. The did not, of course, realize its
sinister purpose then.
It has now become evident that on at least one occasion police
failed to find the girl when they might have done so. They had
questioned her captor when searching for the white van but he had
given them an alibi that they accepted. Had they searched his
house thoroughly they might have located the captive. This was
three months after she disappeared and would have saved the girl
long years of confinement. But maybe searchers would not have
found her. Locked in her tiny space Natascha was completely cut
off from outside help. The prison cell had been soundproofed by
her cautious captor and even the entrance was hidden from
view.
SOUNDPROOF AND CONFINED
Natascha's prison measured just
1.8 metres by 3 metres - a total space of about 5 or 6 square
metres - and was completely cut off from outside light. Set up
like a tiny bedroom, this was to be Natascha's home for the next
eight years - those vital years when she was growing from a child
into a teenager. It is not surprising that when Natascha emerged
from her long ordeal her skin was white.
There is no mention in the accounts of physical restraints being
used. Being an engineer Priklopil knew how to make sure the girl
could not escape. The cell-like room had but one entrance. Judging
by accounts it may have been fashioned from an inspection pit
designed for working beneath a car. It was located under the floor
of a garage, reached by a flight of narrow steps. At the foot of
the steps was a cupboard against a wall and behind the cupboard a
tiny metal hatchway through which Natascha would have to crawl to
get in and out of her isolated 'room'.
And before any searchers could even reach the underground area
they would have to run the gauntlet of security systems worthy -
as neighbours said - of Fort Knox. There were
electrically-operated steel entrance gates, alarms and
surveillance cameras protecting the house and the area in which
the cell was located was protected separately by an
electrically-operated soundproof door.
Further, in the time-honoured manner of many such abductors, the
prisoner was warned of dire consequences if she ever tried to
escape. She was warned that the building was mined with explosives
and that she would be 'grilled to the bone' if she tried to flee.
Indeed, on rare occasions the girl would be allowed out of per
prison to work around the home, even washing her captor's BMW car.
Neighbours saw her on occasions but just assumed she was his
girlfriend. By now Natascha was seemingly sufficiently controlled
not to try to run off. But she was given this greater freedom only
in the last year of her captivity.
What was the abductor's purpose? He was known as a loner who
evidently didn't relate well to other people so presumably the
idea of having a young non-threatening female companion (remember
Natascha was only 10 when she was kidnapped) had a great appeal to
him. At the time of this writing it is not known if Natascha was
sexually assaulted but police said they suspect she was. It is
hard to imagine she wasn't! She reportedly told police she had had
'sexual contact' with Priklopl but that it was
'voluntary'.
According to first reports the girl was required by Priklopil to address him as 'Master' - frequently used to describe the position of a woman as a sex-slave - but Natascha later denied this. She said that Priklopl did want her to use this form of address but she didn't do so. Natascha seemed to take particular offence at the suggestion she had used the term 'Master'.
Locked up for lengthy periods in her confined space Natascha was provided with toilet facilities. She also had a bed, a radio and a video recorder with a TV to play tapes on. However, her viewing was controlled. Her captor must have wanted to avoid Natascha seeing any news reports concerning her abduction as the only TV she saw took the form of TV programs pre-recorded by Priklopil. How long she would be left without contact with her captor is not known but there must have been times when he went off for extended periods leaving her isolated, not knowing when she might be let out into the house above. In the letter issued after her escape (see below) Natascha mentions being at time lonely.
Natascha was given some tuition, including mathematics, and could read and write and express herself well when found. She was given food and provided with clothes and books.
Scenes from the long saga of Natascha Kampusch - distraught parents waiting for a phone call and posters:
THE ESCAPE
But Natascha was not quite as
subdued as appeared. A bright intelligent girl, she had managed
through her long ordeal to retain sufficient judgment to plot an
escape. The details are hazy but suffice to say she managed to
make a break one day when her captor was distracted and turned up
some distance from the house, where she was found in a garden. A
startled homeowner came across the now 18-year-old girl huddled in
the corner of a garden in Strasshof. She was, according to some
accounts, 'emaciated' and there were unidentified marks all over
her body.
At first people found it hard to believe this pale, thin girl was
the missing Natascha (at age 18 she weighed less than her weight
at the time of her abduction!) but soon, through an old scar on
her arm and later through DNA tests her identity was proved.
Police quickly launched a manhunt for the offender, now aged 44.
But once he realized his captive had escape Priklopil jumped into
his car and sped off. Soon after his body was found on a railway
line; he had suicided by throwing himself in front of a train.
Natascha's delighted mother, father and family couldn't believe it
when they learnt their long-lost daughter had survived. Natascha
told her father, Ludwig Koch: 'I love you!' Natascha's mother had
separated from her father before her abduction; when she heard the
news she reportedly collapsed.
The first weekend after her rescue Natascha was brought into
contact with a number of other young people and was said to have
enjoyed the contact with them.
An indication of the smallness of the space in which Natascha had
been forced to live is seen in the fact that police searching for
evidence found it exceedingly difficult to get two persons into
the cell at one time.
AFTERMATH
Soon after these events Natascha sat down and wrote a long - and very intelligent - letter to 'distinguished journalists, reporters and very distinguished public' around the world. She is obviously conscious of the wide interest in her experiences. A sympathetic view of her captor is not unexpected and Natascha certainly has some positive things to say about her life in captivity. Because of her isolation she was, she said, spared from smoking, drinking and forming bad friendships. 'I don't feel I have missed anything,' she added. She also expressed regret that Priklopil had suicided and expressed her sympathies his mother.
There are confused reports about a diary Natascha is said to have kept through the years. Some reports say no diary was found, others that there is a diary. Certainly such a document would prove to be of immense interest to psychologists and criminologists studying the case. Hopefully one day, when life has become more tranquil, Natascha may write a book and share with us her amazing experience. But her letter, which expresses strongly her desire for privacy, suggests otherwise. Natascha as she appeared in the Austrian TV interview:
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