The Abysses of Josef F.

He was a respected FAMILY MAN, beneath whose TRIVIAL APPEARANCE unimagined abysses slumbered. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the most serious crimes known to our criminal law. Now he has written his biography, which he entrusted to the Viennese lawyer Astrid Wagner. She had many conversations with him that allow a deep insight into his soul. We learn about what led him this far. HIS FEARS, MOTIVES, DREAMS AND FANTASIES. HOW HE LIVES NOW. HIS ATTITUDE TOWARDS LIFE, SEXUALITY AND DEATH. “He is not a monster. He is a human being like all of us,” says Astrid Wagner. The philosopher Hannah Arendt once spoke of the “banality of evil”. In fact, it is precisely the apparent normality attached to this case that makes us shudder. Dr Astrid Wagner grew up in Vienna, Paris and Styria. She has been running a law firm in Vienna since 2001, and often represents clients in controversial, often high-profile criminal cases. Inspired by her cases, she has written numerous true crime books, which have made her known to a wide audience.