I’m Josef Fritzl’s lawyer fighting to get incest beast released – he told me the FIRST thing he’ll do when he walks free

THE first thing Josef Fritzl will do when he is released has been revealed by his lawyer.

The twisted monster was seen leaving a court in Austria after he won his bid to be moved to a regular prison, paving the way for his future release.

Louis Wood

Evil Fritzl was pictured leaving court in Austria today[/caption]

Fritzl tried to cover his face as he was taken back to Stein Prison

Fritzl was seen arriving at Landesgericht District Court this morning

His lawyer Dr Astrid Wagner revealed the first thing he’ll do once he’s freed

Fritzl pictured at Sankt Poelten Prison

The vile criminal was sentenced to life in prison in 2009 after he held captive his daughter Elisabeth in a bunker at his home in Amstetten for 24 years and fathered seven children with her.

The 88- year-old, told a court in in Krems an der Donau today that he deeply regretted his actions, and that he had dealt with the crimes “intensely”.

The verdict means he can now launch another application within a year for his release to a nursing home.

His lawyer Dr Astrid Wagner said the monster was ordered to continue regular therapy sessions.

She also refuted previous reports that he was seen drinking coffee and revealed the first he would do when he’s freed is to get a beer.

She told The Sun: “There was a report that he was out having a coffee but this is not true – because the first thing he would do when he is released is have an Austrian beer.

“He wants to get on with the process — and he is very confident.

“He says it’s in God’s hands but also in my hands.”

REMORSE

Asked how Fritzl had expressed regret for his crimes, Dr Wagner told The Sun: “He told me he would give his life to undo what he did.

 “But I said it would change nothing, and the past could not be undone.

“He is reading the case and the files. He thinks about what happened a lot. There is a lot of remorse.”

She went on: “Today’s hearing was a very important first step on the road to his release to a nursing home.

 “In Austria you can apply for parole after 15 years and he has been in for 16. 

 “It’s probably a bit too early to apply for release to a nursing home right now. But this time next year it is more likely.

 “Even if he is released then it will be like a prison because of his age.

 “For a nearly 90-year-old man he is in good physical condition — the same as he was 16 years ago — but he cannot go on hikes.

“But his dementia means he thinks people have invited him to parties, so he has these problems.”

After spending 15 years behind bars for his horrific crimes, his lawyer insists he is “100 per cent rehabilitated” and “he would never do it again.”

She said: “He’s another person now, these 16 years changed him, he’s a very humble person now.

“He also promised me not to commit suicide. There was something in his mind some years ago he was very depressed.”

She added: “We have a new psychiatric report that says he is not a danger to anyone. 

“He struggles a bit with the dementia, but only a little.”

Fritzl left at Landesgericht District Court in the police van using the same rear entrance at around 8.45, after a short 15-minute hearing.

Reporters and members of the public were not allowed into the courtroom as the hearing was held behind closed doors.

The beast used his hand to cover his face for the half-a-mile journey back to Stein Prison, where he is expected to spend his first night in a general cell.

He is said to have struggled to hear judges deliver their verdict, which will see Fritzl moved from the high-security wing of Stein prison to a traditional wing.

The court heard he had regularly read the case files on his 2009 prosecution.

The hearing was held in a courtroom instead of a prison office, where early release applications are generally heard.

Court chief Ferdinand Schuster told The Sun: “This case was heard in the court as it is of great interest to the media and the public.

“The defendant said he was intending to file another application. 

“It’s impossible to predict the future but maybe within a year another application can be made.”

DAUGHTER’S ORDEAL

In 2009, Fritzl was handed a life order for incest, rape, coercion, false imprisonment, enslavement and for the negligent homicide of one of his infant sons.

Elisabeth was 18 when she disappeared in 1984 and did not re-emerge until 2008 from the dungeon-like basement built by her father under the family home in Amstetten, Austria.

The abuse resulted in the birth of seven children – three of which remained in captivity with their mother.

One died at the hands of Fritzl, a matter of days after being born and he disposed of the body in an incinerator.

The other three were brought up by Fritzl and his wife, Rosemarie, after he claimed they were left on his doorstep as babies.

Rosemarie divorced him after his horrific crimes were laid bare.

Fritz kept his daughter captive in a bunker in his house in Amstetten

Elisabeth and her children were forced to stay locked in the underground cellar for years