Austrian Kidnap Victim Issues Statement Defending Her Captor
Natascha Kampusch, the 18-year old Austrian girl who resurfaced last week after being held captive for more than 8 years, issued a statement Monday saying that she hadn’t missed anything while she was being held, and asking reporters to leave her alone.
Last week while her captor was on the phone, 18-year-old Natascha Kampusch slipped out the door and escaped after spending eight years in a dingy underground cell. Wolfgang Priklopil had kidnapped 10-year old Natascha while she was on her way to school, and he kept her at his house as her disappearance grew into one of Austria’s greatest unsolved mysteries. When Prinklopil, 44, discovered that his captive had escaped, he fled from his house and committed suicide by throwing himself in front of a commuter train in Vienna.
Kampusch issued a statement Monday through a psychologist, who read her remarks to reporters. She said that although she understands the "extreme curiosity" people feel about her long ordeal, she believes she didn’t miss anything during her captivity and she considers Prinklopil to have been "part of her life" that she’s not ready to talk about publicly right now. She knows that people are wondering how she’s getting along since bolting to freedom last week, but she asked journalists, "Please leave me alone for a while."
Police Maj. Gen. Gerhard Lang of the Federal Criminal Investigations Bureau told the Austria Press Agency that the young woman has the right to privacy, and she is not under police supervision. "If Natascha decides to go into…Vienna’s inner city and get a coffee, then she can do that," Lang said. "If she wants, she can go everywhere." He added that the decision to seclude herself from other people—including her parents—was her decision alone.
Monika Pinterits, an attorney who spent several hours with Kampusch on Saturday and Sunday, told reporters that the teen had met with young people her own age since her escape, and she had been "in a good mood" and engaged in excited conversation with the other young people and enjoyed their company. A medical exam after her return showed that Kampusch is capable of making her own decisions, so investigators will work with her to decide if and when she will speak to them about her experience.
Investigators continue to search for clues in the house where Kampusch was kept, which is located in the community of Strasshof, north of Vienna. Investigators have found videos and books in the dungeon where Kampusch was kept. Kampusch taught herself how to knit using a book, Lang said. "A lot of what Priklopil told Natascha was wrong," Lang said. "He manipulated his victim." Investigators have not found a diary, but they are examining notes and shopping lists found in Kampusch’s cell and other parts of the house.
Although ecstatic to learn that their daughter is alive and well, her parents have been frustrated that they haven’t been able to spend more time with their daughter. After her escape, Kampusch had a brief, emotional reunion with her parents, but she has not asked to see them again since that meeting. Her mother, Brigitta Sirny, told reporters that she doesn’t think her daughter wants to be kept from her. "Natascha is now locked away again. That’s terrible for me," she said. "I really couldn’t imagine that. I think the mother should be close. Psychologists and doctors are all well and good, but a daughter needs her mother. Why can’t I see my daughter?"
Sirny told the newspaper that she had gone to see a fortune teller after her daughter disappeared. The fortune teller told her that Natascha was alive and well in a cellar to the north, so Sirny prayed every day that her daughter would make it through her ordeal and return to her family. She celebrated her daughter’s birthdays, even baking cakes for her that she later threw away. She said that her biggest wish now is that Kampusch will choose to come live with her.
Her father, Ludwig Koch, begged police to be able to take a few photographs with her so he could share them with her extended family. Officials declined, fearing that the pictures might end up plastered all over the newspapers and television. Koch later told reporters that his daughter had sent him a letter saying not to worry, and that eventually they would have "all the time in the world" to get to know each other again.
Kampusch issued a statement Monday through a psychologist, who read her remarks to reporters. She said that although she understands the "extreme curiosity" people feel about her long ordeal, she believes she didn’t miss anything during her captivity and she considers Prinklopil to have been "part of her life" that she’s not ready to talk about publicly right now. She knows that people are wondering how she’s getting along since bolting to freedom last week, but she asked journalists, "Please leave me alone for a while."
Police Maj. Gen. Gerhard Lang of the Federal Criminal Investigations Bureau told the Austria Press Agency that the young woman has the right to privacy, and she is not under police supervision. "If Natascha decides to go into…Vienna’s inner city and get a coffee, then she can do that," Lang said. "If she wants, she can go everywhere." He added that the decision to seclude herself from other people—including her parents—was her decision alone.
Monika Pinterits, an attorney who spent several hours with Kampusch on Saturday and Sunday, told reporters that the teen had met with young people her own age since her escape, and she had been "in a good mood" and engaged in excited conversation with the other young people and enjoyed their company. A medical exam after her return showed that Kampusch is capable of making her own decisions, so investigators will work with her to decide if and when she will speak to them about her experience.
Investigators continue to search for clues in the house where Kampusch was kept, which is located in the community of Strasshof, north of Vienna. Investigators have found videos and books in the dungeon where Kampusch was kept. Kampusch taught herself how to knit using a book, Lang said. "A lot of what Priklopil told Natascha was wrong," Lang said. "He manipulated his victim." Investigators have not found a diary, but they are examining notes and shopping lists found in Kampusch’s cell and other parts of the house.
Although ecstatic to learn that their daughter is alive and well, her parents have been frustrated that they haven’t been able to spend more time with their daughter. After her escape, Kampusch had a brief, emotional reunion with her parents, but she has not asked to see them again since that meeting. Her mother, Brigitta Sirny, told reporters that she doesn’t think her daughter wants to be kept from her. "Natascha is now locked away again. That’s terrible for me," she said. "I really couldn’t imagine that. I think the mother should be close. Psychologists and doctors are all well and good, but a daughter needs her mother. Why can’t I see my daughter?"
Sirny told the newspaper that she had gone to see a fortune teller after her daughter disappeared. The fortune teller told her that Natascha was alive and well in a cellar to the north, so Sirny prayed every day that her daughter would make it through her ordeal and return to her family. She celebrated her daughter’s birthdays, even baking cakes for her that she later threw away. She said that her biggest wish now is that Kampusch will choose to come live with her.
Her father, Ludwig Koch, begged police to be able to take a few photographs with her so he could share them with her extended family. Officials declined, fearing that the pictures might end up plastered all over the newspapers and television. Koch later told reporters that his daughter had sent him a letter saying not to worry, and that eventually they would have "all the time in the world" to get to know each other again.
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