'House of horror' case haunts Austria

(CNN) -- Austria was left reeling in 2006 after it was revealed that a 10-year-old schoolgirl had been abducted and held captive for more than eight years.

Now the central European nation has been left asking itself how a similar, if even worse, horror could happen after 73-year-old Josef Fritzl admitted to imprisoning his daughter for more than two decades, as well as fathering seven of her children.

"How is it possible that no one has ever heard or seen anything?" Der Standard newspaper on Monday asked of events in the town of Amstetten, outside Vienna.

"What does it say about the neighbors, relatives, family and friends, but also those who had to deal officially with the family? How could he have been successful keeping people fooled?"

"The entire nation must ask itself just what is fundamentally going wrong," the paper added in an opinion piece. Watch a report on the case »

Much of the media coverage has similarly centered on how events at the house passed unnoticed.

Headlines in other Austrian newspapers have included "Did not notice anything" (Kurier), "Wife did not know about anything" (Wiener Zeitung) and "24 years abducted in dungeon -- no one noticed the horror" (Salzburger Nachrichten).

The attention -- and soul-searching -- paid to the case is reminiscent of that 18 months ago, when teenager Natascha Kampusch escaped from a basement cell outside Vienna in which she had been held since she was kidnapped as a 10-year old on her way to school.

She was held for more than eight years by Wolfgang Priklopil, who later killed himself when Natascha escaped.

Locals in Amstetten have also expressed disbelief at events in the town.

The suspect "was friendly -- that's why this is so unbelievable," Franz Redl, 56, who owns a shop across the street, told The Associated Press.

"I'm sure the authorities did all they could. He planned everything so perfectly."

A woman identified as Gabriele H. told Austria's Kurier newspaper she thought Fritzl was a devoted grandfather doing his best to look after his abandoned grandchildren.

"One who looks after their grandchildren whilst their mother just ran away. We were all asking ourselves what kind of mother would do that to their children?," she said.

Another local, Berhard E , who lives opposite the family, told Kurier: "I am appalled, this is unimaginable and simply not comprehensible."

"Mr. Fritzl and I grew up together" said Erika Manhalter who lives a few meters away from their house. "We thought this would be a family just like others, but you cannot look through people," she told Kurier. E-mail to a friend

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