Josef Fritzl pleads guilty to incest

An Austrian man accused of fathering daughters seven children as he locked her in a basement for decades pleaded guilty to incest,but insisted he was innocent of murder and enslavement charges as his trial opened on Monday.

Josef Fritzl hid his face behind a blue file folder as a judge began the proceedings under heavy security in St Poelten,65 kms west of Vienna. Fritzl pleaded guilty to incest and false imprisonment,but only partially guilty to charges of coercion and rape. He pleaded not guilty to murder and enslavement.

Police say the 73-year-old has confessed to holding his daughter for 24 years in a cell he built beneath his home. Investigators say DNA tests show he fathered her six surviving children. Another child died in infancy,and prosecutors charged Fritzl with murder,saying the baby might have survived if he had arranged for medical care.

Fritzls voice was inaudible as he gave the judge his name and other details. He eventually removed the folder,but sat still in the dock.