The incredible story of Natasha Kampusch

Many, perhaps, heard about this terrible and at the same time amazing history that took place in a quiet and prosperous Austria. A young girl spent eight years in captivity with a maniac! In 2008, after the happy release of the girl, Natasha Kampush's story became known to the whole world. Photo of the victim of the abduction, her captor, and a detailed description of this story - later in this article.

Natasha Kampush: birth, family and early life

The story of Natasha Kampusch happened in the Austrian capital Vienna, in its largest district of Donaustadt.

The girl was born on February 17, 1988 in a full family. Father - Ludwig Koch, the owner of a small bakery, mother - Brigitte Sirni. However, soon, when Natasha turned five years old, her parents divorced.

Prior to her abduction, Natasha Kampush was the most ordinary child - she went to a regular elementary school, after classes she attended the Alt Winn kindergarten. However, after the kidnapping of the girl in the press, often began to appear notes about the fact that Natasha's childhood was not entirely prosperous. And some individuals even claimed that the mother of the child allegedly was involved in the abduction. By the way, the Austrian police also worked on this version. Brigitta Sirney herself completely refuted all these statements and accusations against her.

Natasha Kampush herself in her memoirs will later write that her mother loved her, but she was very strict. The girl had almost no friends as a child, so she often felt lonely.

Natasha Kampush: the beginning of a nightmare

Natasha's parents divorced, and his father went to live in Hungary. Just on the eve of the kidnapping, the girl spent the winter holidays with her father. Returning home, Kampush was preparing for school.

The history of Natasha Kampush's abduction is generally very typical. A ten-year-old girl - a normal, slightly fat child - goes to school in the morning. However, I did not return home at night. Having found out that the daughter was absent and at school, the mother immediately appealed to the police.

Almost immediately there was a witness - another girl of 12 years old. According to her testimony, the abduction of Natasha Kampush took place in the middle of a white day, right on the street. Two unknown men forcefully put the missing girl in a white van (later it turns out that the kidnapper was still one).

The Vienna police immediately began to search. Convincing the press that the white minivan is the only way to solve the problem, the detectives began actively working on other versions. In particular, the father of the girl and his entourage were tested separately in Hungary.

At the same time, the search teams checked all the cars in the district that fit the witness's description. Curiously, one of them was the minivan of the kidnapper himself. However, the man who claimed that he was using a van to transport construction materials did not arouse suspicion from the police.

In general, the story of Natasha Kampush is tragic, incredible, but with a good ending. After all, the girl, having been imprisoned for a maniac, swore to herself that she would surely get out.

Wolfgang Priklopil

The story of Natasha Kampush is inextricably linked with this person. Wolfgang Priklopil was born in 1962 in Vienna, in an ordinary family.

The future kidnapper Natasha Kampush studied mediocre, had good behavior. However, some psychological deviations in the boy began to occur already in childhood. He was unsociable, avoided communication (as, indeed, Natasha Kampush), read a lot. At the age of 13 he made himself a homemade shotgun and began to amuse himself by shooting in the streets in birds and stray dogs.

After school and year of training in technical school Priklopil got a job as a simple worker in the company "Siemens". At the same time, his colleagues never noticed anything strange behind him. Later, he changed jobs, settling in as a technician in the Austrian telephone network. There he worked until 1991.

After investigating this high-profile case, psychologist Mainfred Crumple will note that just in the early 90's Priklopil thought about it for the first time about kidnapping a child. The victim of a maniac was exactly Natasha Kampush. Photo of the abductor Wolfgang Priklopil you can see below.

8 years in captivity

It should be noted that in her 10 years Natasha Kampusch was a fairly educated and intelligent child. Finding herself in a minibus, she immediately realized that she had been stolen by a maniac. However, the girl did not scream and did not resist. She remembered one of the telecasts about kidnappings, where it was said that maniacs most often kill those victims who resist them.

As Natasha recalls, everything happened very quickly. True, she managed to pay attention to Priklopil's blue eyes (she recognized her name later) and to the fact that the kidnapper looked very miserable and miserable.

The van with the kidnapped girl rode for about half an hour. Wolfgang Priklopil brought her to his small house in Strasshof an der Nordbahn, in Lower Austria.

The little room in which the girl found himself was tiny and without windows. Here about 8 years was supposed to be spent by Natasha Kampush. The cellar in which the child was held, as it turns out later, was soundproof. And the entrance to it Priklopil carefully disguised.

Once in his "prison" and realizing that there is no help to wait, the little girl decided to act sensibly and calmly. She deliberately tried to seem more stupid than she really is, immediately recognized the authority and authority of Priklopil. Whether Natasha did this consciously, or intuitively, - it is precisely unknown. However, this behavior was correct: the kidnapper generally treated the girl well, as to her child.

Almost seven years, Natasha Kampusch spent in this little room, which was furnished as an ordinary nursery. It had a bed, shelves, a few lockers for clothes, a TV and a fan. Wolfgang Priklopil paid due attention to the education of the girl, bringing her books, magazines and compelling to listen to classical music.

Only in 2005 Priklopil allowed already young Natasha to walk in the garden near the house and even leave it with him. At the same time, a maniac begins to beat a girl almost every day. According to Natasha Kampusch, she constantly went around with numerous bruises and abrasions on her body.

The escape

Kampusch not once thought to escape. Also the girl had ideas to kill Priklopil. The kidnapper kept saying that the doors and windows of the house were mined, and that she would not be able to escape alive.

Nevertheless, the long-awaited liberation of Natasha Kampush took place on August 23, 2006. The girl was in the garden when Priklopil was called by a client on the announcement of the sale of the car. He stepped aside, and Natasha managed to escape unnoticed, leaping over the fence. A few minutes later she knocked at one of the neighboring houses and called the police.

Natasha Kampush: photo after the escape

The girl brought to the police station looked pale and exhausted, but her health was satisfactory. To identify the girl was helped by a scar on her body, as well as a DNA test. The police found that this is the girl who was abducted in 1998. It was Natasha Kampush.

Photo after the escape Natasha, when her, covered with a blanket, removed from the police station, flew around the world. For eight years of her imprisonment Natasha Kampush has grown by 15 centimeters and gained only 3 kilograms of weight!

After listening to the testimony of the girl, the police immediately rushed to the detention of Wolfgang Priklopil. However, they did not have time: the man committed suicide, rushing under the train at the North Station of Vienna. By the way, Priklopil probably knew that sooner or later it would end this way. The phrase "they will never catch me alive" Natasha heard from him more than once.

Life after liberation

Natasha Kampush after the release of the eight-year captivity gave several interviews. All the money raised from this, she gave to needy women in Africa and Mexico.

After her happy release, the girl began to actively engage in charity and the struggle for animal rights. She also transferred 25 thousand euros to the victim of another maniac who spent 24 years in the basement. In 2007, Kampush created her personal website, and in 2008 she even conducted her show on television.

It is curious that after the death of Priklopil Natasha bought his house, and now he belongs to her.

Natasha Kampush and "Stockholm Syndrome"

In the press, there have been many speculations that Natasha Kampusch suffers from the so-called Stockholm syndrome. It is known that the death of Priklopil, despite the fact that he was the culprit of her troubles, very grieved her, she even put him a candle in the church. In addition, her statements about her captor trace even some gratitude and sympathy. In particular, Natasha once said the following: "I could avoid many dangerous things: I did not start smoking, drinking, did not get involved with a bad company."

Also, many people speculate that Natasha Kampusch could have escaped much earlier, but somehow she did not.

Natasha Kampush: 3096 days of horror

Natasha Kampush categorically does not accept all the speculation about the fact that she allegedly suffers from the Stockholm syndrome. To dispel this myth, she publishes an autobiographical book about herself in 2010.

The book is written on the basis of the diary of Natasha Kampush. Work on its creation lasted several months. In writing the book Natasha helped journalists - Corinne Milborn and Heike Gronemeyer. The book, released under the title "3096 days", was included in the list of the most commercially successful works of the year.

Natasha Kampusch's story is also shown in a feature film under the same title. The picture of German director Sherri Horman was released in 2013.

Finally...

3096 days ... This is how much Natasha Kampush spent in captivity with the maniac Wolfgang Priklopil. At the same time the girl managed not only to survive physically, but she did not break morally. After her happy release, Kampusch took up charity, helping other women victims of violence.