Who is Alfred U? Josef Fritzl’s only friend in prison is a cannibal who made goulash from a prostitute's dismembered body

Josef Fritzl, the Austrian criminal who was convicted in 2009 for locking up his daughter in his basement, r*ping her, and fathering several children with her, has allegedly made friends with a cannibal, Alfred U. Fritzl's attorney, Astrid Wagner, told the German daily Bild, how he isolates himself from everyone except for “his only pal Alfred U.”

Alfred U is an inmate at the Stein prison at Krems—a high security holding unit for mentally disturbed patients in north-east Austria—where Josef Fritzl has been serving his life imprisonment sentence since 2009.

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Alfred U—a Cannibal, and Fritzl's only prison pal

Alfred U, also represented by Astrid Wagner, was imprisoned to serve a life sentence in 2019 for cannibalism and murder. Alfred had dismembered a Hungarian prostitute and made a goulash using her body parts, according to Mirror.

The cannibal was reportedly caught when the headless torso of his 28-year-old victim was recovered from the Neusiedler Lake on the Hungarian border. While the victim's head was later recovered, the Austrian investigators had suspected the body to be at the bottom of the lake for months, according to Daily Star.

The Police also revealed finding the woman’s entrails in his freezer at the time of the arrest. Upon confrontation, Alfred U admitted that he had intended to “taste it at a later date.” According to Mirror, Fritz has isolated himself from everyone in the prison except for Alfred U, who also makes wiener schnitzel - a thin bread cutlet of veal fried on a pan.

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Josef Fritzl might be looking at an early release from prison

Josef Fritzl was imprisoned at the age of 73 and will complete 15 years of his sentence this year, making him eligible for parole under the terms of his sentence. At 88, Fritzl has grown frail and allegedly suffers from dementia, as per the report submitted by court psychiatrist Heidi Kastner.

In 2009, Fritzl was imprisoned for keeping his daughter, Elisabeth, as a prisoner in their family home in Amstetten for 24 years. Elisabeth had disappeared in 1984 as an 18-year-old and had not been seen by anyone until April 2008. In the course of these years, Fritzl reportedly abused her and impregnated her seven times.

As Josef Fritzl gains eligibility for parole in 2024, Wagner, his lawyer, gave a statement about the 88-year-old’s current condition in Bild, stating how he was “completely harmless today.”

“He barricades himself in his solitary cell, watches a lot of TV, grows tomatoes, writes about his life as an electrical engineer. He sunbathes through the bars, does gymnastics, cares a lot about his figure and wants to live to be a 100.”

He further said,

“I wouldn’t be afraid to move into a shared apartment with him or live in a home with him. He has no s*x drive anymore.”

Wagner also claimed that Josef Fritzl is not mentally fit enough to continue serving time in prison and should be moved to a nursing home in her opinion, as per the media outlet.

“His brain is degrading, like an old computer whose programs are going crazy. He lives in a dream world and says that his daughter will marry Boris Becker. And that he was a guest on the TV show ‘Schlagerkarussell’.”

Talking about Friztl’s despicable actions before his imprisonment to Bild, Wagner stated how she regretted “his treatment of his daughter”.

“He says he has nightmares and wakes up in the middle of the night. He’s not a monster, he’s still a human. He committed terrible acts for years, became delirious, and says himself that he was overwhelmed by his s*xual drive. But he regrets his actions – very sincerely in my opinion. Of course he represses his great, great guilt, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to continue living.”

Because of his frailty and mental condition – as outlined in Heidi Kastner's report – Josef Fritzl has been deemed harmless and might soon be released to a nursing home.