Kidnapping of Natascha Kampusch

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The kidnapping of Natascha Kampusch began on March 2, 1998, when the then ten-year-old Austrian was dragged into a delivery van on her way to school and subsequently by the unemployed communications engineer Wolfgang Přiklopil (born May 14, 1962 in Vienna ; † August 23, 2006 ibid) was held prisoner in his house in the Lower Austrian community of Strasshof an der Nordbahn for over eight years. She was able to escape on August 23, 2006, which led to worldwide media coverage.

The media and investigative commissions expressed massive criticism of the investigations by the security authorities.

kidnapping

procedure

On the morning of March 2, 1998, shortly after 7 a.m. , Natascha Kampusch left her parents' apartment in Vienna's Donaustadt to go to school, but did not arrive there. Since an argument with her mother had preceded it, it was initially assumed that she ran away from home in a defiant reaction. However, indications from residents indicated a kidnapping case: Kampusch left the apartment on Rennbahnweg , crossed Wagramer Straße and continued on Rennbahnweg in a north-westerly direction. At the Melangasse - Murrstrasse intersection at Ingeborg-Bachmann-Park , she turned right in a north-easterly direction into Melangasse . At number 26 to 30, she noticed the white pickup truck. By then she had walked 600 meters. It was another 300 meters to the elementary school on Brioschiweg . According to a schoolmate who was twelve at the time, Kampusch was dragged into the interior by a man through the side door when she passed the pickup truck stopped at the roadside. Another person who could not be recognized by the young witness is said to have been behind the wheel of the car.

According to later interrogations of witnesses, after the kidnapping, Přiklopil did not go straight to his house with the dungeon that was not yet completed, but to a forest. There he phoned and then explained to Kampusch that "the others" would not come. The statement later fueled speculation that there could be multiple perpetrators.

Shortly after the kidnapping, the police checked more than 1,000 owners of white minibuses, including the actual kidnapper Wolfgang Přiklopil. Přiklopil told the investigators that he needed the vehicle for construction work. After the police found rubble in the interior of the van, the then innocent Přiklopil was not considered suspect.

The daily newspaper Kurier hired a professional detective, but his research was unsuccessful.

On May 14, 1998, a police dog handler from Strasshof referred to Přiklopil as a possible perpetrator at the Vienna Security Office. In the protocol, the statement is made as follows:

“With regard to the search for the white box van with dark windows in the Gänserndorf district in relation to the dependency of KAMPUSCH Natascha, there is a person in Strasshof / Nordbahn who could be connected to the disappearance and who also owns a white Mercedes box wagon with darkened windows is. This man is a so-called 'loner' who has extreme difficulties with his environment and has contact problems. He is said to live with his mother in Straßhof / Nordbahn, Heinestrasse 60 (single-family house), which is fully electronically secured. The man may also have weapons at home. In front of the Heinestrasse 60 area, Ögft [sic] his white box car, brand Mercedes, license plate unknown, with completely darkened windows on the sides and back. This man was previously employed as a communications electronics technician at SIEMENS and could still be so now. The man may live with his elderly mother in this house and should he have a penchant for 'children' in relation to his sexuality, whether he has already had a criminal record in this regard is unknown.
The name of the man is unknown to the caller, he is only known from the neighborhood.
The man should be around 35 years old, have blond hair, be 175-180 cm tall and be slim.
The anonymous caller could not provide any further details. "

- Police protocol (spelling mistake as in the original)

Since the policeman wanted to remain anonymous, his name was not recorded.

The officer who took the notice had the residents inspected. After it became clear that the reference meant Wolfgang Přiklopil, who had already been questioned and checked, the lead was not pursued any further.

Despite extensive investigations - suspicious people from the abductees' environment were subjected to a lie detector test - the case could not be resolved for years.

Life in captivity

Kampusch was held for 3096 days in Strasshof in Lower Austria on the northern railway . According to a statement by the head of the Austrian Federal Criminal Police Office , it was hidden in an assembly pit under the garage of a family home. The pit was closed with a soundproof safe door. The small, windowless room was 181 centimeters wide and, viewed from the 50 × 50 centimeter entrance on the narrow side, 278 centimeters on the left and 246 centimeters on the right. On the left-hand side, just behind the entrance, was a loft bed, underneath an area 157 centimeters high remained free; the room was 237 centimeters high. On the opposite side of the bed was a small desk with a small television above it. The rest of that wall was filled with shelves. In the corner to the right of the entrance there was a toilet and a stainless steel sink with two basins as washing facilities. Investigators later reported that the entrance to the hiding place was so well camouflaged that it would probably not have been found even during a house search.

Exterior view of the house in which Natascha Kampusch was imprisoned

Kampusch said she stayed there permanently for the first six months after the kidnapping. Later she was allowed to go into the kidnapper's house for a while (including to shower) when he was alone. After several years, she was allowed to leave the hiding place in the presence of her kidnapper for occasional shopping and walks, including once for a ski trip. She was not allowed to make any contact with other people. He threatened her if she violated the law that she and the people concerned would be killed.

According to the information in her autobiography, Kampusch was repeatedly and severely physically abused by Přiklopil during the entire time of her abduction, among other things in the form of blows and kicks: This led, among other injuries, to several concussions. In addition, her hair had been shorn off for a long time and she was repeatedly humiliated and forced to clean and cook for Přiklopil and - especially for a child - to carry out heavy physical renovation work on his house and the apartment he last bought.

Kampusch received selected newspaper material from Přiklopil in the later course of the kidnapping and was occasionally allowed to read books, listen to the radio and watch videos. She also said that the kidnapper gave her occasional reading and writing lessons. Psychologists and police officers who spoke to her after her escape found that she was highly intelligent and fluent despite the longstanding isolation . Kampusch was well informed about daily events in the world.

According to police investigations, Kampusch did not live in the cellar dungeon in the last period of her captivity, but in the upper part of the house. She and the kidnapper left the house several times for different trips. The heavy door of the dungeon could only be locked with help from the inside.

In March 2016, the existence of a video documenting the lives of Kampusch and Přiklopil became known. The investigators had confiscated it in 2006 during the house search. It testifies to the great exercise of power by Přiklopil and confirms the victim's statements.

Escape and first testimony

According to Kampusch, as a result of Přiklopil's negligence, he was able to flee from Přiklopil's property at noon on Wednesday, 23 August 2006. When she was cleaning Přiklopil's vehicle and vacuuming it, his cell phone rang at 1 p.m. A Viennese had read Přiklopil's newspaper advertisement in which he offered an apartment in the 15th district of Vienna , which Kampusch had to renovate with him under harsh conditions, and asked about it. Přiklopil moved a few meters away because of the noise of the vacuum cleaner. Kampusch took this opportunity and fled. She entered a corridor through a garden door that Přiklopil had left open by mistake. After several passers-by and residents had not helped her despite her pleading, she went into a garden not far from the kidnapping house and knocked on a window. The neighbor, to whom Kampusch explained her situation, informed the police who took Kampusch to the Deutsch-Wagram police station.

A young patrol officer looked after the victim until the police officers arrived and asked him numerous questions. When asked whether there were several perpetrators, Kampusch replied: "I can't name any names." The statement subsequently fueled speculation that there could be several perpetrators.

Kampusch's identity was later confirmed beyond doubt by a DNA test . Her parents recognized her too, and her passport was found in the kidnapper's house, which she had with her a few days before her abduction due to a stay abroad.

Přiklopils escape

After Kampusch's escape, the police declared the entire capital a wanted area, but Přiklopil was not picked up. He noticed that Kampusch had escaped shortly after he had ended his four-minute phone call, and went in search of her. His vehicle was soon discovered in the parking garage of the Vienna Danube Center , which was then surrounded by the police. Přiklopil had informed an acquaintance and asked to pick him up; he was caught drunk behind the wheel during a check and needed help. He promised the acquaintance, however, to face the police later. The friend picked him up from the Danube Center and brought Přiklopil near the Prater . Shortly before 9 p.m. on the same day, Přiklopil in Vienna's 2nd district between the Vienna North and Traisengasse stations was run over by a Vienna S-Bahn train traveling in the direction of Gänserndorf and suffered fatal injuries. The Austrian parliamentary secret committee of 2012, chaired by Werner Amon, questioned this representation because Přiklopil's injuries did not match a death by being run over by a train. In 2013, an evaluation report by international experts confirmed the suicide.

In August 2010, Přiklopils' friend Ernst Holzapfel, whom he had met after Kampusch had fled, was charged with favoritism . He deliberately withdrew some of the persecution from Přiklopil. During the police interrogation in November 2009, Holzapfel stated, as his defense attorney Manfred Ainedter confirmed to the APA news agency, that shortly before his alleged suicide, Přiklopil confessed to the kidnapping in a kind of “life confession”. Holzapfel was acquitted by the Vienna Criminal Court.

A money transfer of 500,000 schillings (around 36,300 euros) from Holzapfel to Přiklopil around the time of the kidnapping has also not been clarified. After the original statement that Holzapfel lent his friend the money for a car was inconclusive, Holzapfel changed his statement.

In 2008, Kampusch told the media that she was in close contact with Ernst Holzapfel and that the two were now almost on friendly terms.

After the escape

Helpers and advisors

After her escape, Kampusch stayed at the Vienna General Hospital before moving to an assisted living community. She was able to receive visits on various occasions, including from her parents. She was looked after by a team that included the Viennese child psychiatrist Max Friedrich and the youth lawyer for the City of Vienna, Monika Pinterits. The aim of the team was to coordinate Kampusch's therapy on the one hand and to secure her way into an independent life on the other. This also included making up for missed school attendance.

Kampusch's support team was subject to changes. The originally intended lawyer had to give up because of overload and another law firm was hired. Until September 9, 2006, the team also included the Viennese media consultant and PR expert Dietmar Ecker, who coordinated the incoming interview requests and book and film projects. According to his own information, Ecker had received around 300 requests from international media for an exclusive interview and described his work as very difficult. After a long selection process, on October 27, 2006, Stefan Bachleitner was appointed by the PR agency The Skills Group as Kampusch's new media supervisor. He took on this task free of charge until the end of June 2007.

Media coverage

After the successful escape, media from all over the world became interested in Kampusch's story. The press conferences of the team that Kampusch supervised were followed closely by media representatives.

On August 30, 2006, Kampusch wrote an open letter to media representatives and the public. She briefly describes some details from the time of her captivity and described her relationship with Přiklopil, which she characterized as being of equal rank. She also asked for respect for her privacy. The letter was first read out by the child psychiatrist Friedrich at a press conference and later published in the media. Friedrich stated that Kampusch himself wrote the letter on slips of paper and that he himself only made a handwritten summary of these notes. So the passage comes from Kampusch himself, according to which Přiklopil carried it on hands and trampled it.

Two weeks after Kampusch's escape, the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) broadcast the first interview with Kampusch , conducted by Christoph Feurstein , on September 6, 2006, in the main evening program of television and radio, which was changed at short notice. Contrary to previous speculations, Natascha Kampusch's face was neither covered nor made unrecognizable afterwards. Despite her long imprisonment, Kampusch reported largely calmly and with language skills at least appropriate to her age about the circumstances of her imprisonment, but also about her view of the kidnapper and her emotional life. She asked again urgently for the protection of her privacy. Teletest determined that 2.6 million Austrians (older than twelve years) followed the interview, which corresponds to a market share of 80 percent.

The Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, which claims to have paid nothing for the interview, took over the international rights marketing free of charge and paid the proceeds into a fund set up for Kampusch. Spiegel Online reports about a six-figure sum in the sale of the first rights to the German private television broadcaster RTL , which reached 7.13 million viewers with the interview, as well as the purchase of rights by the ARD for a later broadcast after midnight.

Another interview package was negotiated with the Wiener Neue Kronen Zeitung and the weekly newspaper News . In this context, Kampusch was interviewed by the journalists Marga Swoboda and Alfred Worm . The interviews were illustrated in both magazines and published almost simultaneously a few hours before the television interview was broadcast. According to the daily newspaper Der Standard, the basis for the award of News and the Kronenzeitung were the offers of the magazines to support Kampusch materially for her future life.

This was followed by a second television interview, which was broadcast in excerpts on December 18, 2006 on ORF and partly included in the documentary Der Fall Kampusch , which was shown on January 3, 2007 by ORF and RTL and a day later on 3sat .

Another motive for awarding the interviews was - in addition to financial interests - from the point of view of Dietmar Ecker, who was temporarily employed as Kampusch's media advisor, the attempt to influence the tabloid media, as Ecker stated in an interview with the Vienna city newspaper Falter . In an interview with the newspaper Die Zeit , Ecker also pointed out the unusual pressure that many journalists had exerted on Natascha Kampusch and her relatives, as well as on the relatives of Přiklopils, and which was accompanied by the threat of publishing imaginative reports about Natascha Kampusch if they are not ready for an interview.

Criticism of investigative authorities

The media have repeatedly argued that the authorities could have intervened much earlier in the Natascha Kampusch case, as information about the perpetrator became known shortly after the kidnapping. The investigation was closed on November 15, 2006 by the public prosecutor.

Accusation by the President of the Federal Criminal Police Office

The then incumbent President of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Herwig Haidinger, complained that his subordinate withheld the minutes of the first interrogation of Natascha Kampusch for four weeks, despite instructions. He then decided to go to the press and publicly accused the Interior Ministry of having stalled the investigation of the investigative errors. The result was a parliamentary committee of inquiry (see section: Parliamentary inquiries ).

Failures according to the evaluation committee

On February 10, 2008, the then Austrian Interior Minister Günther Platter set up an evaluation commission under the direction of the lawyer Ludwig Adamovich , "in order to gain knowledge about structural improvement possibilities as well as the need for the development of new criminalistic methods, techniques, etc." After two interim reports The commission presented its final report on June 9, 2008, in which it confirmed its impression that “the relevant investigative approaches have not yet been fully exhausted.” In addition, it complained that the files of the public prosecutor's office and the investigating judge were not made available to it.

On December 12, 2008, the commission was again commissioned to carry out an evaluation by the new Minister of the Interior, Maria Fekter, who had recently been sworn in. The final report of January 15, 2010 showed that "in particular criminological relevant questions on three topics could not be answered adequately or not at all from the available documents", including the circumstances of the actual kidnapping, the circumstances surrounding the detention, and the question of whether others People knew about Natascha Kampusch's whereabouts at Přiklopil. In addition, the commission members criticized the fact that the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office did not react to any of the six reports that the evaluation commission sent them.

According to the former President of the Supreme Court of Justice and member of the evaluation commission Johann Rzeszut , there were a total of 27 indications in the Kampusch case or “peculiarities of the public prosecutor's investigation that cannot be explained in a technically plausible manner”.

  • Missing witness interrogation: The then 12-year-old eyewitness to the kidnapping had stated in six different interrogations that she saw two men in a white van on the day of Natascha Kampusch's kidnapping on March 2, 1998. It was only on December 3, 2009, after a comparison with Natascha Kampusch, that the witness would have said that she could have been wrong. For years the witness was not questioned by a public prosecutor or a judge. On July 29, 2011, she testified under oath in front of the Innsbruck court that police officers had pressured her not to tell anyone about two perpetrators.
  • Pressure from the public prosecutor's office on the police investigative commission: The chief investigator Franz Kröll, who had "massive concerns" about Přiklopils suicide, was "unequivocally advised" to quickly stop the investigation in the case of kidnapping.
  • Delays in the investigations: According to the commission, there was a "long-term delay or, until the very end, complete failure to take significant steps in the investigation that had been indicated in the long term." the evaluation commission initiated. In addition, the leading public prosecutor Werner Pleischl is said to have expressly assured the evaluation commission on April 30, 2008 that the investigation would be restarted informally, only to inform the Ministry of Justice shortly afterwards in a report that there was nothing left to investigate.
  • Obstruction of the evaluation commission: There is also said to have been a "significant and long-term obstruction of the evaluation of the investigative measures by the security authorities". For example, the Adamovich Commission was denied access to Natascha Kampusch's interrogation protocols.
  • Media dissemination of untruthful information: In the summer of 2009 it was reported that the police had carried out "only one interrogation" in several months. In fact, according to Rzeszut, a total of six interim reports were submitted to the prosecution between February 4 and July 14, 2009. These reports were based on 102 interviews and two interviews with witnesses.

In a later interview in 2011, Rzeszut decidedly ruled out the one-offender theory and accused the public prosecutor of further deficiencies in their investigations:

  • Non-evaluation of the call data back-recording : In September 2006 shortly after the end of Natascha Kampusch's imprisonment, the public prosecutor's office is said to have ordered the call data back-recording of seized cell phones, but then did not evaluate the data. It was not until the evaluation commission took up the matter in February 2008. In the process, “connections in need of clarification” emerged, including conversations between Přiklopil's friend Ernst H. and a militia officer B., who was stored in Ernst H.'s cell phone as “Be Kind Slow”, although both stated that they did not know each other. Immediately after these discussions, H. phoned the manager of a sex shop.
  • The investigation against a militia officer was stopped before his interrogation : six months later, the investigations of the public prosecutor's office were informally resumed after interventions by the interior and justice ministers in November 2008, but the suspects were only questioned by the police in autumn 2009. The investigations against the militia officer were even closed on September 10, 2009, although his first interrogation was not scheduled for October 8, 2009. In 2013, a photo was leaked to the press showing the officer with a senior Viennese police officer who was active in the Kampusch investigation.
  • Failure to investigate despite forged farewell letters : According to Ernst H., Přiklopil is said to have begun a farewell letter to his mother with the words “Mama” after Natascha Kampusch's escape, but then broke it off. According to the graphological report of November 18, 2009, however, the text was very likely written by Ernst H. and not by Přiklopil. Accordingly, further investigative steps would have been necessary, in particular because of the death or possible murder of Přiklopil; however, these did not take place.

Failures according to chief police investigator Franz Kröll

Even after the new investigations from November 2008 to December 2009, according to police chief investigator Franz Kröll, numerous questions remained unanswered:

  • Unsecured traces: The head of the state police command of Upper Austria, who evaluated the police work steps in the kidnapper's house in Strasshof in the summer of 2009, found that a large number of traces had not been secured. But since a "very experienced" official was on duty, this shortcoming could only be explained by the fact that "the crime scene investigator had no specific assignment to look for traces of possible accomplices".
  • Removal of Evidence: One day after Přiklopil's suicide, his friend Ernst H. was allowed to remove objects that had allegedly been borrowed while securing evidence. Přiklopil's business partner relied on an oral power of attorney from Přiklopil's mother. However, the woman did not know about this authority.
  • Missing computer: No computers were found in the Přiklopils house (with the exception of an antiquated Commodore 64 ), although two IP addresses were registered in the name of Přiklopils.
  • The chief investigator is denied access to the interrogation protocols: Kröll only received access to the secret interrogation protocols with Natascha Kampusch from 2006, which the judiciary had initially withheld from the criminal police, at the end of July 2009. Kröll and his colleague were not allowed to make copies. They were only given permission to read the protocols for six hours in the Vienna Regional Criminal Court and to take notes.

Since Kröll's concerns were not heard, he refused to take part in the “final press conference” of the public prosecutor and the police in January 2010. After public criticism of the final report of the case, which in his opinion lacked dubious statements by Natascha Kampusch, he was bullied and transferred to the office, according to his brother . Kröll died on June 25, 2010 under circumstances that suggested suicide. However, this is doubted by some, including Kröll's brother. The latter was also surprised that Kröll is said to have shot himself in the left temple as a right-hander. According to his brother, the farewell letter found in Colonel Kröll's house was not in the handwriting of the deceased and not with the signature of his brother. A report made known on November 6, 2013 by the director of the Graz Forensic Medicine Institute, Peter Leinzinger, commissioned by Kröll's brother, contradicts the investigators' suicide theory.

Alleged abuse of office against five public prosecutors

On September 29, 2010, Johann Rzeszut initiated investigations against five public prosecutors with a 25-page report to all parliamentary parties. The prosecutors Werner Pleischl, Thomas Mühlbacher , Otto Schneider, Hans-Peter Kronawetter and Gerhard Jarosch were guilty of abuse of office in the Kampusch case.

In the summer of 2011, the Ministry of Justice instructed the Innsbruck public prosecutor to review the allegations. In September 2011, the Innsbruck judge's confidential final report was sent to the Ministry of Justice . This concludes the project report on the abuse of office allegations that Rzeszut had brought against the public prosecutors. On September 24, 2011, the judiciary closed the case against the prosecutors. Federal Minister Beatrix Karl (ÖVP) then announced that she would have the file checked again by the independent legal protection officer of the judiciary who was not subject to instructions. A decision should then be made as to whether the procedure should be reopened or finally discontinued.

Parliamentary inquiries

Committee of Inquiry - 2008

In March 2008, a parliamentary committee of inquiry was set up to investigate the suspected omissions politically.

In April 2008, the daily newspaper Heute printed private details from interrogation files that had not been published before. The Social Democratic Party of Austria and the Austrian People's Party accused each other of having disclosed these data, which were available to both the Ministry of the Interior and Justice and the parliamentary committee of inquiry, to the press. The case was eventually turned over to the prosecutor.

Secret Committee of Inquiry - 2011

On October 21, 2010, the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), with the consent of the Greens and the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ), applied for the "establishment of an investigative committee to investigate the political and legal responsibility in connection with the public prosecutor's investigation into the dependency case of Natascha Kampusch". The application was initially rejected by the coalition parties, the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ) and the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). Finally, the parties agreed to reopen the Kampusch case and to hear the critics Ludwig Adamovich and Johann Rzeszut again. In addition, it should be determined whether the termination of the proceedings against the five public prosecutors for abuse of office was legal. On December 1, 2011, a subcommittee of the Interior Committee, which met in camera, was set up in parliament with 16 representatives from all five parliamentary parties. An "evaluation report" should be sent to parliament and a secret report to Justice Minister Karl.

On June 28, 2012, the committee published a final report. The committee chairman Werner Amon ( ÖVP ) had already made people sit up and take notice in an interview that the “theory of the single perpetrator is difficult to maintain” and that there is also the possibility that Přiklopil did not commit suicide but was murdered. In the final report itself, the MPs state that there is no evidence to confirm rumors about other perpetrators or even child pornography. However, they found some investigation misconduct. The investigators from the public prosecutor's office and the criminal police did not do their job with the necessary care and professionalism, nor were the essential questions that arose in the course of the investigation adequately investigated. In particular, the police dog handler's reference to the kidnapper Přiklopil was not followed up. In addition, the young witness, who had observed the kidnapping and spoke of two perpetrators, was "pressured" to change her testimony. The financial circumstances as well as the shifting of assets after the death of Wolfgang Přiklopil had never been examined. The MPs also criticized the fact that not all files were presented to them. There is a suspicion "that an objective evaluation of the investigation was influenced from the outside." The central question, whether the kidnapper had accomplices or confidants, can, however, "not be conclusively answered" with the available investigation results.

Finally, the committee recommends that the Ministry of the Interior and Justice evaluate the investigative work by cold-case specialists with international participation. A possible resumption of the proceedings is "dependent on new investigative approaches that can also result from this evaluation". The responsible public prosecutor in Vienna was severely criticized for not questioning or taking up obvious inconsistencies and errors in any way. In particular, public prosecutor Hans-Peter Kronawetter is said to have hindered SOKO Kampusch by ignoring a joint agreement with the Adamovich Commission dated April 30, 2008 in favor of further investigations and reporting to the ministry on July 11, 2008 that no further investigations were necessary.

New evaluation report by international experts - 2012/2013

In mid-July 2012 it became known that the Natascha Kampusch case was being carried out by a 14-strong international team of experts, consisting of representatives from the Ministry of the Interior and Justice, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution , a public prosecutor from the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor's Office , several criminal investigators and at least one representative from the FBI and the German BKA , is being worked up again. On August 27, 2012, the team began to re-examine the 270,000-page file material. The review was originally scheduled to run until the end of 2012. In January 2013, the interior ministry spokesman announced that the completion of the examination would be delayed until February or March 2013. The final report, which confirms the single perpetrator theory with a high degree of probability, was presented on April 15, 2013. No evidence of other perpetrators was found in Přiklopil's car or house. Connections of Přiklopil to the red light, sad maso or pedophile scene could not be established. Furthermore, there are no doubts about Přiklopils suicide. However, the commission found "investigative errors" and "misjudgments" in the investigation.

Illegal private investigation

In February 2012 it became known that a single police officer close to the FPÖ tried to obtain DNA samples from a child who was rumored to be a daughter of Natascha Kampusch. The policeman was temporarily suspended from duty. In the investigation against the police officer, ex- OGH- President Johann Rzeszut was heard as a witness. This said under the duty of truth that he did not know the man. However, the two are said to have had telephone contact several times. In December 2014 Rzeszut was charged with false testimony. The trial ended in February 2015 with an acquittal.

Denied compensation payment

At the beginning of May 2011 the Republic of Austria refused Kampusch financial compensation for her long imprisonment. In February 2011, she applied to the Ministry of the Interior for compensation of one million euros and stated that the reason was police investigative errors. Natascha Kampusch wanted to donate the sum to an aid project and will refrain from going to trial against the state after the rejection.

Other ongoing litigation

Advertisement from the brother of the late chief investigator Kröll

In September 2012, Karl Kröll, the brother of the late chief investigator Franz Kröll, brought three criminal charges. The first two reports are directed against the Innsbruck public prosecutor Brigitte Loderbauer as well as against the city police command Graz and the crime scene group in the LKA Styria, who are said to have acted negligently in the investigation. The third complaint is directed against unknown persons for murder, since third-party negligence in the death of the brother cannot be ruled out. In addition, the autopsy that was never carried out was to be made up for.

Advertisement from Natascha Kampusch's father

Ludwig Koch, Kampusch's father, reported a friend to Přiklopils in 2012 and accused him of complicity or complicity. He also claims damages.

Cultural reception

theatre

In the play The Participants , the Austrian writer Kathrin Röggla dealt with the reactions of the media and society as well as the development of dealing with the victim. The Austrian premiere was on October 16, 2010 in the Vienna Academy Theater .

Movie

After Natascha Kampusch had previously been of the opinion that it was too early to be made into a film, in May 2010 she signed an agreement with producer Bernd Eichinger and Constantin Film on a “careful filming”. "Many sensitive mailings in recent years have moved me to have my fate filmed." The journalist Peter Reichard was involved in the script. The start of shooting planned for 2011 was postponed for a year after Eichinger's death; work began in May 2012. Sherry Hormann directed. The film premiere of 3096 days was on February 25, 2013 in Vienna, the cinema release on February 28.

literature

  • Walter Pöchhacker: The Natascha case. When cops walk over dead bodies. Verlag Detektivagentur Pöchhacker, Vienna 2004, ISBN 3-200-00235-2 ( professional detective Walter Pöchhacker reports on his investigation into this missing person case almost two years before Natascha Kampusch reappeared.)
  • Allan Hall, Michael Leidig: Girl in the Cellar. The Natascha Kampusch Story. Hodder & Stoughton, London 2006, ISBN 978-0-340-93648-1 . (The book was not published in German. According to Der Standard -Online, Natascha Kampusch's lawyer Gerald Ganzger called the book a “speculative snap shot”, but the planned legal action against the book was not initiated. The lawsuit against the Times and their online Offshoots because of the preprint of extracts ended with a settlement.)
  • Peter Jamin: Missing - and sometimes murder. Verlag Deutsche Polizeiliteratur, Hilden 2007, ISBN 978-3-8011-0538-9 . (Natascha Kampusch wrote the preface to this book, which analyzes her case in several places.)
  • Brigitta Sirny-Kampusch: Desperate years. My life without Natascha. Verlag Carl Ueberreuter, Vienna 2007, ISBN 978-3-8000-7295-8 . (Natascha Kampusch's mother told the journalists Andrea Fehringer and Thomas Köpf about their experiences and feelings before, during and after the time of the kidnapping of their daughter.)
  • Martin Wabl : Natascha Kampusch and my path to truth. The protocol. Self-published, Fürstenfeld 2007, ISBN 978-3-200-01038-3 . (The retired judge Martin Wabl describes his efforts in the search for Natascha Kampusch.)
  • Christoph Feurstein : (a) shaped. impressed: perpetrators - victims - people Verlag Carl Ueberreuter, Vienna 2008, ISBN 978-3-8000-7385-6 . (The ORF journalist dedicates one of the ten chapters of his book to the story of the kidnapping victim.)
  • Jens Bergmann, Bernhard Pörksen (Ed.): Scandal! The power of public outrage. Halem Verlag, 2009, ISBN 978-3-938258-47-7 . (Natascha Kampusch reports in a chapter of this book how she defends her privacy against attacks by the tabloids.)
  • Martin Pelz: The Natascha Kampusch case. The first eight years of a unique kidnapping case in the media. Tectum Verlag , Marburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-8288-2294-8 . (Journalism thesis, which analyzes the media coverage before the reappearance of Natascha Kampusch)
  • Natascha Kampusch: 3096 days. List Verlag , Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-471-35040-9 . (Kampusch's autobiography, written by the ghostwriters Corinna Milborn and Heike Gronemeyer.)

Web links

 Wikinews: Natascha Kampusch  - in the news

Media coverage

Parliamentary documents

Evaluation Commission documents

Wolfgang Přiklopil

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Passport Přiklopil ( Memento of the original dated June 6, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Faz.net @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.faz.net
  2. ↑ Natascha kidnapping: Soko checks evidence of accomplices. In: Spiegel Online. August 25, 2006, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  3. ↑ a b The open questions in the Kampusch case. In: derstandard.at . July 13, 2012, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  4. ↑ Child abduction: Missing girl reappears after eight years. In: Spiegel Online. August 23, 2006, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  5. ↑ Peter Pilz : The Affair / Priklopil. December 9, 2010, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  6. ↑ a b Important note on Kampusch kidnapper Wolfgang Priklopil: The act in full. In: news.at. February 7, 2008, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  7. ↑ Peter Pilz: The affair / The second clue. December 9, 2010, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  8. ↑ profile about the 'Kampusch case'. In: profil.at. February 9, 2008, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  9. ↑ Child abduction: 3096 days behind a soundproof safe door. In: Spiegel Online . August 24, 2006, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  10. ↑ Kampusch was on a ski trip with the kidnappers. In: noe.ORF.at. September 15, 2006, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  11. ↑ Petra König: Natascha has not lived in the dungeon for a long time. In: 20min.ch. June 28, 2011, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  12. ↑ Stefan Aust , Peter Reichard: The filmed martyrdom. Video log from the dungeon. In: Die Welt , March 20, 2016.
  13. ↑ a b c The Kampusch case: In search of a second perpetrator. In: stern.de . October 24, 2008, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  14. ↑ Where is Natascha? ( Memento of December 3, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  15. ↑ [1] , ORF Vienna , 23 August 2006
  16. ↑ Abducted girl: New doubts about the individual crime in the Kampusch case. In: Spiegel Online. February 26, 2012, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  17. ↑ a b Priklopil with “high probability” single perpetrator. In: diepresse.com. April 15, 2013, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  18. ^ Favorable allegation: Friend of the Kampusch kidnapper should go to court. In: Spiegel Online. March 16, 2010, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  19. ↑ Confession: Kampusch kidnappers confessed the crime to a friend. In: Spiegel Online. November 16, 2009, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  20. ↑ The Kampusch case: A kidnapping case that does not come to rest. In: diepresse.com. August 23, 2009, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  21. ↑ Natascha Kampusch needs rest now , Die Presse , September 7, 2006
  22. ↑ Kampusch moved into apartment . In: ORF , September 28, 2006.
  23. ^ Dorothee Hermann: Dietmar Ecker: Natascha Kampusch's media coach. In: Schwäbisches Tagblatt. April 30, 2011, accessed March 2, 2016 .
  24. ↑ New media supervisor for Natascha Kampusch . APA-OTS , October 27, 2006
  25. ^ The open letter on netzeitung.de, viewed on April 18, 2011 ( Memento from May 21, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  26. ↑ TV interview with Natascha Kampusch ( memento of the original from February 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , ORF Mediaresearch, September 7, 2006  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / mediaresearch.orf.at
  27. ↑ Kampusch interview attracts seven million to RTL , quotenmeter.de , September 7, 2006 (accessed on December 16, 2013)
  28. ↑ Trading in emotions . Falter , edition 37/06 p. 21 f
  29. ↑ "Trading in Emotions". In: misik.at. Archived from the original on February 12, 2014 ; accessed on February 12, 2014 .
  30. ↑ a b c d Natascha Kampusch: After five years, many questions remain unanswered , Oberösterreichische Nachrichten, March 5, 2012
  31. ↑ a b BM.I .: Report of the evaluation commission handed over to Interior Minister Platter ( memento of February 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  32. ↑ Ludwig Adamovich, Rudolf Keplinger, Thomas Müller, Susanne Reindl-Krauskopf, Johann Rzeszut, Mathias Vogl: Final report of the “Evaluation Commission” appointed by the Federal Minister of the Interior for the Natascha Kampusch case . Vienna June 9, 2008, p. 58 ( online [PDF]). Final report of the "Evaluation Commission" set up by the Federal Minister of the Interior for the Natascha Kampusch case ( memento of the original from February 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bmi.gv.at
  33. ↑ http://www.bmi.gv.at/cms/cs03documentsbmi/805.pdf ( Memento from August 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  34. ^ Adamovich final report II ( Memento from August 16, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 2.2 MB)
  35. ↑ a b 25-page presentation of the facts, Wikilegia.org. (PDF) (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 5, 2016 ; accessed on March 2, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wikilegia.info
  36. ↑ Kampusch case: Investigations against five public prosecutors in: DiePresse.com of November 2, 2010
  37. ↑ a b c d e f Julia Jüttner: Case Natascha Kampusch: The legacy of Colonel Kröll. In: Spiegel Online. March 2, 2012, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  38. ↑ DiePresse.com Kampusch case: "I rule out one perpetrator thesis" , November 19, 2011
  39. ↑ a b c DiePresse.com Kampusch file: Report delayed , January 27, 2013
  40. ↑ a b Case "Kampusch": USA and Germany switched on. In: diepresse.com. March 3, 2012, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  41. ↑ Natascha-Cop's brother charges the police. In: oe24.at. June 30, 2010, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  42. ↑ The death of Colonel Kröll. In: 20min.ch. Retrieved December 11, 2015 .
  43. ↑ Julia Jüttner: Natascha Kampusch case: The enigmatic death of Colonel Kröll. In: Spiegel Online. November 6, 2013, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  44. ↑ Johann Rzeszut: Subject: Art. 52 B-VG - Statement of facts on the public prosecutor's investigation in the case of deportation Natascha Kampusch. (PDF) September 29, 2010, accessed March 2, 2016 .
  45. ↑ Suicides by investigators and Priklopil raise questions , DerStandard , November 9, 2010
  46. ↑ News case Natascha Kampusch: Innsbruck public prosecutors check public prosecutors , March 1, 2011
  47. ↑ DiePresse.com case of Natascha Kampusch: kidnapping with (too) many secrets , October 23, 2011
  48. ^ A b Vienna Online: Kampusch: Decision on abuse of authority allegations pending , November 8, 2011
  49. ↑ Kampusch case: Proceedings against public prosecutors discontinued , DerStandard, November 24, 2011
  50. ↑ Meineabenken.at: Kampusch case: Minister Karl has the StA Innsbruck's Kampusch report checked again ( memento of the original from April 3, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , November 24, 2011 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.meineabektiven.at
  51. ↑ Kampusch case: Parliamentarians call for further investigations , DerStandard, November 14, 2011
  52. ↑ Comprehensive inquiry to the U committee. In: Small newspaper. March 3, 2008, archived from the original on September 24, 2014 ; accessed on March 2, 2016 .
  53. ↑ Private details: Natascha Kampusch “horrified” , ORF Vienna, April 19, 2008
  54. ↑ Application for the establishment of a committee of inquiry 437 / GO , see also the shorthand minutes of the debate , homepage of the Austrian Parliament, requested on December 2, 2010
  55. ↑ The Standard Parliament rolls up Causa Kampusch again , December 5, 2010
  56. ↑ Secrets in the Kampusch case. In: diepresse.com. February 28, 2012, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  57. ↑ Communiqué of the Standing Subcommittee of the Committee on Internal Affairs regarding investigations into the case of Natascha Kampusch 243 / KOMM , homepage of the Austrian Parliament, requested on September 24, 2012
  58. ↑ a b picture: apa: Head of the Kampusch Committee doubts the theory of single perpetrators. In: nachrichten.at. February 28, 2012, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  59. ^ New doubts in the Kampusch case - oesterreich.ORF.at. In: oesterreich.orf.at. February 27, 2012, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  60. ↑ a b Kampusch case: Investigation committee calls for new investigations. In: Spiegel Online. June 28, 2012, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  61. ↑ a b Communiqué of the Standing Subcommittee of the Committee on Internal Affairs regarding reviews of the Natascha Kampusch case [2] (PDF; 211 kB), homepage of the Austrian Parliament, queried on September 24, 2012
  62. ↑ a b Kampusch case: beginning of the cold case review. In: derstandard.at . July 13, 2012, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  63. ↑ Kampusch case: “With a high degree of probability” Priklopil was a single perpetrator. In: derstandard.at . April 15, 2013, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  64. ↑ Kampusch: Police investigated illegally on ORF on February 29, 2012, accessed on February 29, 2012.
  65. ↑ Kampusch case: Police officer temporarily suspended from duty on DerStandard from March 1, 2012, accessed on March 5, 2012
  66. ^ Kampusch case: Trial against ex-Supreme Court presidents . DerStandard, December 18, 2014, accessed December 20, 2014.
  67. ↑ Causa Kampusch: The highest judge with tunnel vision , DerStandard, December 18, 2014, accessed on December 20, 2014.
  68. ^ Causa Kampusch: Ex-OGH-President Rzeszut acquitted . DerStandard, February 27, 2015.
  69. ↑ cf. AFP: Austria refuses Natascha Kampusch compensation ( memento from January 25, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) on google.com, May 3, 2011 (accessed on May 4, 2011).
  70. ^ Salzburger Nachrichten: Three reports against investigators in the Kampusch case , September 3, 2012, accessed on September 24, 2012
  71. ↑ a b Kurier: Causa Kampusch: Public Prosecutors “nicht verhabert” , August 27, 2012, accessed on September 24, 2012
  72. ↑ “The Participants”: Kampusch and the Victim Parasites on ORF from October 17, 2010, accessed on October 18, 2010.
  73. ↑ "In a gentle manner". (No longer available online.) In: orf.at. May 28, 2010, formerly in the original ; accessed on December 11, 2015 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / orf.at  
  74. ↑ Constantin is shooting Kampusch-Film 2012. In: quotenmeter.de. Retrieved December 11, 2015 .
  75. ↑ Campbell Hughes plays Natascha Kampusch. In: derstandard.at . April 15, 2012, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  76. ↑ Natascha Kampusch: Escape exactly five years ago. In: diepresse.com. August 23, 2011, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  77. ^ Film about Natascha Kampusch - premiere without celebration. In: sueddeutsche.de . February 26, 2013, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  78. ↑ Walter Pöchhacker ( Memento of the original from October 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the website of the detective agency Pöchhacker @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.detektiv-poechhacker.at
  79. ^ Controversy over the Kampusch book. In: derstandard.at . December 4, 2006, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  80. ^ British Kampusch book: For the time being, no complaint. In: oesterreich.orf.at. November 30, 2006, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  81. ↑ Comparison after lawsuit against Buch. In: oesterreich.orf.at. December 2, 2006, accessed December 11, 2015 .
  82. ↑ Exclusive interview with the author Corinna Milborn about biography. In: woman.at. September 6, 2010, accessed December 11, 2015 .