Fritzl III.

Authorities are looking at old records media reports say document a rape conviction by Josef Fritzl.

Nobody will EVER be able to understand why Fritzl did what he did. He may have grown up during the Nazi occupation of Europe, his father may have been a Nazi or a Nazi sympathizer, his mother may have beaten the shit out of him, his wife may not have had sex with him for decades, but none of these things explain his actions. Certainly not fully. His case is similar to those of serial killers, and even worse in many respects, yet nobody can get in the head of somebody else and know what makes him or her tick.

After all, Ted Bundy, to use an extreme example, had brothers and sisters who grew up in similar circumstances, and none of them ever turned out to be like him. Bundy had a daughter, and as far as we know, she turned out okay being raised under anonymity by her mother. In other words, neither family circumstances nor genetics can ever fully explain why somebody becomes evil. They certainly play a role, but they can't explain it fully.

As the columnist notes, the authorities did what they could do, but without help from neighbors, Fritzl's crimes continued for years on end. The neighbors and tenants just weren't diligent enough, they weren't suspicious enough to call the authorities. They thought Fritzl was a wonderful person who took in his daughter's three children when she "abandoned" them after "joining a cult."