Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Kidnap Victim Buys House Where She Was Imprisoned


Somewhere lost in the story of the Austrian who imprisoned his own daughter and the kidnapping here in the States of Jaycee Duggard I never heard the story of another Austrian girl who was kidnapped at the age of ten and finally escaped at 19. Last night a documentary aired about her imprisonment. It is called Natascha Kampusch: 3,096 Days Imprisonment. Her kidnapper killed himself the day after she escaped but Natascha says she has forgiven him or else she would not be able to move forward with her life. Now 21, she does admit to carrying his photo in her purse so she can see him everyday. The saddest part of this ordeal is that she apparently used some of the money she has received from telling her story to buy the house where she was imprisoned. She lives there. I can't imagine why anyone would want to live there but she says it is where she spent her formative years so it is important to her. She did say she would fill in the cellar where she was kept if she ever decides to sell the house.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wonder if she went for Therapy??

ballyhoo. said...

wow. just, wow.

i cannot even imagine the hell she has gone through and what it has done to her psyche. i hope owning this home only helps her get some closure and all, but it doesn't seem that healthy imo.

mooshki said...

Stockholm Syndrome. Hopefully she just needs time. And lots of therapy.

Anonymous said...

Well, that is f**ked up. I hope she recovers, poor thing.

Icecat said...

Wow.. That's just.. CREEPY.

Very sad story. I hope she is okay and getting the help she needs. If it we're me, I don't think I would be buying the house...

I remember the story. I think she escaped while cleaning or vacuuming. The guy left her alone and she bailed. Kind of sounds like she was attached in a creepy sort of way.

Sue Ellen Mishkey said...

Mooshki beat me to it.

lmnop123 said...

This young lady is sick. I hope she gets the help that she needs to recover.

Why else would she carry his photo and want to see his face everyday?

She's still attached to him and the house. That's not good on any level.

RocketQueen said...

Wow. Definitely what Mooshki said. I just want to hug this girl and introduce her to a nice boy.

lutefisk said...

I wonder where her own family is now. So sad.

Ms Cool said...

Aw, man.

Priscila said...

Wow. just sad, awfull news today!!

Pookie said...

ditto mooshki! and omg, major creepy. poor girl, so young...she needs to be in therapy...how heartbreaking.

skeeball said...

maybe in her mind, it is the only place she feels safe. Only intensive long term therapy will allow her to deal with this and not blame herself.

ardleighstreet said...

Poor girl. I hope she gets some help.

I'd buy the house and demolish it so there wouldn't be the symbol of my living hell.

parissucksliterally said...

poor thing.....get some help Jaycee, and burn that thing to the ground.

Anonymous said...

For those like me that don't know what Stockholm syndrome means, here is the definition:

In psychology, the Stockholm syndrome is a term used to describe a paradoxical psychological phenomenon wherein hostages express adulation and have positive feelings towards their captors that appear irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims. While uncommon, the FBI’s Hostage Barricade Database System shows that roughly 27% of victims show evidence of Stockholm syndrome. The syndrome is named after the Norrmalmstorg robbery of Kreditbanken at Norrmalmstorg in Stockholm, in which the bank robbers held bank employees hostage from August 23 to August 28, 1973. In this case, the victims became emotionally attached to their captors, and even defended them after they were freed from their six-day ordeal. The term "Stockholm Syndrome" was coined by the criminologist and psychiatrist Nils Bejerot, who assisted the police during the robbery, and referred to the syndrome in a news broadcast. It was originally defined by psychiatrist Frank Ochberg to aid the management of hostage situations.

trouble bubble said...

I checked the Wikipedia and I am not sure she lives there.

Quote:
"Natascha Kampusch now owns the house in which she was imprisoned, saying, "I know it's grotesque — I must now pay for electricity, water and taxes on a house I never wanted to live in". It was reported that she claimed the house from Priklopil's estate because she wanted to protect it from vandals and being torn down; she also noted that she has visited it since her escape.[46] When the third anniversary of her escape approached, it was revealed she had become a regular visitor at the property and was cleaning it out possibly to move in herself.[47] As of 2009, she is living in central Vienna.[48] In January 2010 Natascha said she had bought the house because it was such a big part of her formative years, also stating that she would fill in the cellar if it is ever sold, adamant that it will never become a macabre museum to her lost adolescence."

So maybe Enty got it wrong

Tempestuous Grape said...

Wow, just wow on this one.

empyrios said...

i don't think this is sick or twisted in any way nor do i think any of us can relate to her thought process unless we lived her existence...

perhaps this IS her form of therapy. who knows? whatever it is that helps her move forward can't be a bad thing.

Cancan said...

Perhapas she bought it to prevent someone else from buying it and turning it into a theme park of the macabre.

Lux Interior had the cinderblocks from Ed Gein's porch.

A friend of mine has the grate on which Abigail Folger died. It's pictured in Helter Skelter. He turned it into a coffee table. Hardee har har.

So maybe she just wants to "own" it and decide its fate.

But the photo in her purse, I can't explain that.

aena said...

I'm from Switzerland so we've been following this story a bit more closely. I'm quite certain that she doesn't live in that house and doesn't plan to do so either. She bought it so that no one else would buy it and turn it into a gruesome tourist attraction or something.

I'm not sure about the picture in her purse, but I'm assuming it has something to do with the fact that, as she has repeatedly said in interviews, she can't shake the guilt of being the reason he is dead now. Apparently he had always told her he would kill himself if she escaped and so she feels responsible for the death of another human being (although personally I wouldn't be so quick to call him human).

sunnyside1213 said...

Some people want to buy houses where people were killed. How macabre.

MadLyb said...

I think this girl is coping with the horrific thing that happened to her in the best way she knows how. I don't judge, because I've never been in her shoes. It seems like she needs help, but she also has the strength to face the bad things that happened to her head on. Good for her! I wouldn't say it is 'creepy' that she carries her victimizer's picture. It is likely more complex than that.

MadLyb said...

I think this girl is coping with the horrific thing that happened to her in the best way she knows how. I don't judge, because I've never been in her shoes. It seems like she needs help, but she also has the strength to face the bad things that happened to her head on. Good for her! I wouldn't say it is 'creepy' that she carries her victimizer's picture. It is likely more complex than that.

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