t/w forced imprisonment, incest, child sexual abuse

the last picture taken of Ella before her imprisonment
Born January 17th, 1992
Missing: July 20th, 2008 - July 28th, 2023

SOLVED

Ella Victoria Pedersen, being referred to by media as 'Danish Elisabeth Fritzl', is a Danish girl who was imprisoned, tortured and raped by her father, who has spoken about being inspired by the Fritzl Case.

Ella was born the second of two children in Aarhus, Denmark, to Magdalena and Bendt Pedersen. She had one older mother, Aksel. Ella had been sexually abused by her father since she was eight years old, though not many details have been released currently, as this is still considered an ongoing case.

In April of 2008, the Fritzl case came to light, and Bendt decided what he wanted to do. The family home had a large basement with a bedroom and two bathrooms. Ella had talked about wanting to leave when she turned eighteen, she had actually talked about moving to Sweden, and had been avidly learning Swedish. So, he brought Ella down to the basement, forcefully, and trapped her inside the basement and began telling Magdalena she wasn't allowed down any more, due to pipe and gas issues. Aksel often described his father as controlling and abusive man, so it was no surprise that she listened and obeyed him.

Almost daily, he'd rape his daughter, and she very quickly got pregnant. On August 13th, 2009, she gave birth to a girl she called Freja. During her fifteen year long imprisonment, Ella would have six children. Freja (August 13th, 2009), Oscar (November 1st, 2010), Erik (January 3rd, 2012), Casper (May 16th, 2013), Anja (June 4th, 2018), and Katrine (February 18th, 2021).

Meanwhile, Bendt claimed he had no idea where Ella had gone. He believed she had possibly run away to Sweden. The day Ella turned eighteen, the case was dropped, as she was an adult, and the theory of her running away seemed very likely. So, that was that.

In a 2018 interview for the ID show, Disappeared, Aksel said "I don't believe Ella would just run away like that, not without letting me know. I'm not sure why my father believes that, but that's what he believes. But I don't. And I know that, even if she didn't tell me before doing so, I know by now she would contact me. So, if Ella is alive, she was kidnapped. That is what I believe."

On July 25th, 2023, Oscar got extremely sick and Ella began begging Bendt to take him to the hospital, to which he refused. Oscar became unconscious three days later and Ella hurriedly planned her escape. The very next day, when Bendt came down, she attacked him, breaking a plate over his head and having Freja and Erik hold him down. Ella hurried upstairs, where her mother was, and called the police.

Police arrived at the home, and they were all, including Magdalena, taken into police custody. Oscar, as well as all of Ella's children, have since been given significant medical help.

From what we know for now, Ella has been promised protection from her father, and the trial will begin February 2024.