Austrian Josef Fritzl, who fathered seven children with a daughter he kept confined in a dungeon, pleaded guilty Wednesday to all the charges against him.
At the start of his trial earlier this week, the 73-year-old only pleaded guilty to incest and false imprisonment.
However, after hearing his daughter's video testimony, he said he was also guilty of the other charges against him, including:
- negligent homicide
- enslavement
- coercion
- rape
"I declare myself guilty to the charges in the indictment," Fritzl told a panel of judges.
Asked why he changed his plea, Fritzl said it was the testimony from his daughter, Elisabeth, that prompted his decision.
Now 42, Elisabeth was imprisoned in a cellar Fritzl built underneath his house for 24 years.
Fritzl punished his daughter by shutting off electricity in her cellar, which was infested with rats.
Fritzl described his own actions as "sick behaviour."
The murder charge was because one of the seven children Fritzl had with his daughter died in infancy.
Officials say the baby -- a male twin born in April 1996 -- may have survived if Fritzl had arranged for medical care.
"I don't know why I didn't help," Fritzl told the court. "I just overlooked it. I thought the little one would survive.
"I should have recognized that the baby was doing poorly."
Meanwhile, psychiatrist Adelheid Kastner told the court Wednesday that Fritzl suffered from a serious personality disorder and would pose a threat to the public if released.
Kastner recommended Fritzl serve out his sentence in a psychiatric ward.
Kastner said Fritzl had a deep need to control people and was able to block out his crimes from his mind although he said his conscience plagued him.
"Fritzl is guilty for what he did," she said.
She said Fritzl did testify about his difficult childhood and the bad relationship he had with his mother.
"The climate in his parent's house was marked by fear," Kastner said.
She said Fritzl's actions were about possession, power and control.
Fritzl faces up to life imprisonment on the negligent homicide charge.
Elisabeth and her children were staying at a psychiatric clinic under heavy security during the trial.
Her children range in age from 6 to 20.
With files from The Associated Press
