Wolfgang Přiklopil

Who was Wolfgang Přiklopil?

Wolfgang Přiklopil was an Austrian communications technician. In 1998, he kidnapped 10-year-old Natascha Kampusch and held her for eight years, committing suicide after she escaped.

Přiklopil was born to Karl and Waltraud Přiklopil, in Vienna, an only child. Karl was a cognac salesman and Waltraud a shoe saleswoman. Přiklopil worked for a time at Siemens as a communications technician.

Přiklopil kidnapped Kampusch on the morning of March 2, 1998 as she was on her way to school, eventually keeping her in a custom built basement under his house in Strasshof, Lower Austria. The house was built by Přiklopil's grandfather, Oskar Přiklopil, after World War II. During the Cold War period, Oskar and his son Karl built a bomb shelter, thought to be the origin of Kampusch's dungeon. Přiklopil took over the house in 1984 following his grandmother's death.

Kampusch escaped on August 23, 2006. After a police chase, from which he escaped, Přiklopil committed suicide by stepping in front of a moving train near the Vienna Northern Station.

Přiklopil appeared to have relied exclusively on a Commodore 64 as his computer, which is a complicating factor in the recovery of evidence because of the obsolete technology.