Remanded in custody: Incest monster Fritzl 'will face murder charge over baby son he left to die and burned in an oven'

Josef Fritzl was today told he was likely to face a murder charge – and the rest of his life behind bars.

The 73-year-old, who imprisoned and repeatedly raped his own daughter, fathering seven children by her, is expected to be formally accused of murder through negligence following the death of his three-day-old son.

Fritzl failed to get help for the newborn twin named Michael when he was born in the dungeon 12 years ago.

And he has admitted in police interviews that he disposed of the body in an incinerator below the house in Amstetten, 80 miles west of Vienna.

Today, during a 15-minute preliminary hearing behind closed doors at St Poelten Court, yards from the prison he is being held in, he heard prosecutors lay out their plans for the investigation into the case, including the death of the child.

Spokesman for the prosecutor's office Gerhard Sedlacek, said after the hearing: "In Austria he could be charged with murder through negligence.

"It needs to be proved that the baby would have survived had he got proper medical attention.

"That carries a life sentence – and life means life, if convicted he will spend the rest of his days behind bars.

"But we have to wait until all his victims have been interviewed before decisions are made."

The court heard yesterday that Fritzl was also being investigated for rape resulting in pregnancy, kidnap and neglect.

During the 24 years he held Elisabeth captive he fathered Kerstin, 19, Stefan, 18 and five-year-old Felix who lived in the dungeon.

He also fathered Lisa, 16, Monika, 14 and Alexander 12 who he brought upstairs to lead a "normal" existence.

Today the tyrant said nothing during the brief hearing.

He was dressed in casual clothes and not hand cuffed as he was brought from the prison to court.

On Monday, Fritzl will be assessed by a psychiatrist who will begin the process of evaluating whether he is criminally insane.

The retired electrical engineer is planning to use this as a defence to get him out of a lengthy prison sentence.

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He will appear again before court in a month's time but it could be many more months before he is officially charged and a trial is not expected to take place until the autumn.

Meanwhile, Austrian police investigating the house of horrors announced that they will use bloodhounds in order to determine whether there were any corpses buried in the garden.

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Officers have requested the help of archaeologists, who will use sonar equipment to probe the area around the three-storey house this weekend and check whether there are any graves or other underground rooms.

Police spokesman Franz Polzer said that investigators found two previously unknown rooms in the cellar next to the dungeon where the captive family was kept, but that both were "sealed off" with concrete and not used for years.

The rooms were filled with rubbish and building material and officers assume that they were once used as storage.