Court convicts Austria's Fritzl of murder

ST POELTEN, Austria (Reuters) - A court convicted Josef Fritzl of murder Thursday for causing the death of one of seven children he fathered by raping his daughter in a cellar over a period of 24 years, Austrian press agency APA said.

The 73-year-old Austrian had pleaded guilty to incest, rape, enslavement, coercion and murder and faces the rest of his life behind bars. The court was due to pronounce a verdict on the other charges shortly.

The eight-person jury accepted the argument of prosecutors that Fritzl was responsible for murder, the gravest charge, in the death of a boy born underground because he failed to seek help despite knowing the infant's health was in danger.

(Reporting by Sylvia Westall; Writing by Mark Heinrich)