Austrian 'dungeon' father on trial

The 73-year-old Austrian, who fathered seven children with his daughter Elisabeth, has confessed to keeping her in a windowless dungeon beneath the family home for 24 years, where he raped her repeatedly.

Fritzl held a blue file folder over his face as he was escorted into the courthouse in St Poelten, west of Vienna.

His lawyer Rudolf Mayer has said his client will plead guilty to most of the charges but not murder.

Prosecutors allege a child who died in infancy in 1996 might have survived if taken to a doctor.

The court will hear evidence that Fritzl refused to take action when the boy developed severe breathing problems and turned blue. Fritzl's daughter said his reponse was: "Whatever happens, happens."

Legal experts have said the case for murder will be complicated by the absence of forensic evidence.

DNA tests have confirmed Fritzl fathered all six of his daughter's surviving children, according to the authorities.

According to his lawyer, Fritzl expects to spend the rest of his life in captivity - but he could serve his sentence in a special psychiatric facility because of what prosecutors call his "high degree of emotional and intellectual abnormality".

Mr Mayer has sought to play down allegations his client is a "sex monster" and has even said he loved his daughter "in his own way".