18 Mar 2009

Sentencing in incest trial expected Thursday

6:48 am on 18 March 2009

Austrian Josef Fritzl, who fathered seven children with a daughter he locked in a cellar for 24 years, is to be sentenced on Thursday.

He could be jailed for the rest of his life.

Fritzl, 73, has pleaded guilty to incest with his daughter Elisabeth.

He denies murdering their newborn son and enslaving her in a purpose-built cellar under his home where she was kept captive.

A jury has been watching an 11-hour video statement from Elisabeth, now 42, in which she described how she spent her life underground for 24 years.

Much of the trial is being held behind closed doors. It began on Monday.

Lawyer Rudolf Mayer told Austrian television that day his client was "very nervous" and "ashamed" before entering the court.