Claims that Austrian cellar girl had kidnapper’s baby
New claims have emerged over Austrian kidnap victim Natascha Kampusch who was held captive by Wolfgang Priklopil. Austrian Times reports Kampusch gave birth to Prikopil's child while in the cellar and that it was buried in the backyard.
It’s claimed that when she was freed, police and government officials colluded to cover up the evidence of a child.
Kampusch was abducted as a 10-year-old when she was on her way to school in 1998. She was held captive in a cellar 25km north-east of Vienna until 2006 when she managed to escape. Priklopil committed suicide hours later.
There are now calls for a new investigation into her disappearance after allegations emerged that police, government officials and social workers colluded to cover up evidence.
Opposition leader Heinz Strache claims to have access to leaked documents about the investigation including a curl of hair and a book about childbirth that were found in the cellar.
He also claims dogs specially trained to look for bodies found something in the garden however in the report it was said to just be ‘mouldy wood’ and was disposed of.
However another MP Dagmar Belakowich-Jenewein who also wants the case to be reopened says: "They said it was just mouldy wood. But that's not possible at all. These dogs are so well trained they can differentiate between human and animal remains."
He also said that on the day was freed, Kampusch asked a doctor; "How long after a pregnancy can you prove someone was pregnant?"
The case has been surrounded by mystery ever since she escaped, with some claiming the kidnapper was actually a family friend. Most people believed there to be a single perpetrator however a 12-year-old girl witnessed two men in a transit van kidnapping Kampusch, a claim that was allegedly ignored.
The 23-year-old released a book last year detailing the eight years she lived with her captor. Entitled '3096 Tage' (3096 days), she tells how she was beaten up to 200 times a week and how she had to sleep in her captor’s bed and work half-naked as a domestic slave.
She now works as a television host in Austria.
