Wolfgang Priklopil Austrian criminal Date of Birth: 14.05.1962 Country: Austria

Biography of Wolfgang Priklopil

Wolfgang Priklopil was an Austrian criminal who kidnapped a 10-year-old girl named Natasha Kampush in 1998 and held her captive for over eight years. He was born in 1962 in Vienna, Austria, to Karl and Waltraud Priklopil. He grew up as the only child in a peculiar manner, displaying some mental deviations from an early age. He was withdrawn, reluctant to socialize with his peers, and spent a lot of time alone. It later became known that he suffered from incontinence throughout his childhood and adolescence, which further undermined his self-confidence.

Despite mediocre academic abilities, Wolfgang had no behavioral issues while in school. After completing his education, he became an electrician and worked at Siemens. During this time, his colleagues never noticed anything strange about him. He was quiet, hardworking, and did not seek attention. However, he was later laid off from Siemens and joined the company Kapsch where he worked until the early 1990s.

It was discovered that during this period, Wolfgang had developed a desire to kidnap a child. He meticulously planned the abduction and even dug a pit under the garage of his parents' house. Some sources claim that the pit had been originally constructed by Wolfgang's grandfather as an air-raid shelter during the war. In any case, it was in this pit that he placed 10-year-old Natasha Kampush in 1998.

Natasha was kidnapped on March 2, 1998, while walking home from school. A 12-year-old girl witnessed the incident, seeing a man grab Natasha by the hand and force her into a white van. The police interviewed 700 owners of white vans across the country, including Priklopil, but he did not raise any suspicion at the time.

Meanwhile, Natasha lived in a underground room measuring 2.78m in length, 1.81m in width, and 2.37m in height. Priklopil provided her with a television in the pit. Initially, she was constantly confined, but later, Priklopil began allowing her into the house. He convinced Natasha that all the windows and doors were rigged with explosives, making escape impossible. Years went by, and the police had given up hope of finding Natasha alive, while her family continued to mourn her. Meanwhile, Natasha spent every day with her captor. After her escape in August 2006, Natasha refused to answer any questions regarding the sexual aspect of her captivity, stating that it was her personal matter.

Every morning, they had breakfast together, and Natasha would help Priklopil with household chores. Occasionally, he even took her on outings and shopping trips. She managed to escape when Priklopil was distracted by a phone call. Natasha, who was vacuuming his car in the garden, abandoned her task and ran to the neighbors. She was immediately taken to the police station, while Priklopil, fearing police pursuit, chose to end his own life by throwing himself in front of a train heading to the North Station in the Austrian capital.

Later, Natasha refused to provide evidence of sexual abuse against Priklopil, and another version of events emerged - that Natasha and Wolfgang lived as husband and wife, managing the household together. Simultaneously, the Stockholm syndrome theory arose, suggesting that Natasha had developed sympathy for her kidnapper. Regardless, she was deeply saddened upon hearing of Priklopil's death.

Today, Natasha Kampush is the author of her own book and has had the opportunity to host her own television show. The motives of Wolfgang Priklopil remain unclear, although psychologists agree that he was unable to develop normal human relationships.