Austrian kidnapping victim Natascha Kampusch has instructed lawyers to take legal action to claim the house and assets of the man who kept her confined in an underground cell for eight years.

Details of the legal bid to seize the property of Wolfgang Priklopil emerged as it was revealed that Fraulein Kampusch, 18, was being represented by an expert team of psychiatrists, lawyers and social workers.

Her lawyer, Dr Guenter Harrich, confirmed that Fraulein Kampusch will lodge a claim to the house and property of Priklopil, who was 44 when he committed suicide following her escape last week. Priklopil owned two cars, two-thirds of his house in the lower Austrian town of Strasshof - the other third belonging to his mother - and 24 per cent of the company he worked for.

Dr Harrich said: "We are filing a demand for the house in Strasshof in the legacy proceedings for Mr Priklopil's belongings. I believe that his mother will not object to that. After all, it is a matter of compensation for her pain and suffering."

Real estate experts have estimated the value of the 160-square-metre house and property in Strashoff at around £120,000, but have also pointed out that properties where a crime has taken place are often difficult to sell.

Fraulein Kampusch is also expected to be paid around €664,900 compensation by the state of Austria under the country's criminal injuries compensation board. Her lawyer has set up a special account to deal with donations from people who want to give money to help her get back on her feet.

Rupert Leutgeb, spokesman for her father, Ludwig Koch, said: "She escaped with nothing, no education, no personal possessions, not even her own clothes, and she needs a lot of help to restart her life and prepare for her future."

Fraulein Kampusch has also employed an Austrian PR adviser, Dieter Ecker, to negotiate a single interview some time next week in the hope that the teenager will then be left alone by the media.

Ecker said: "It depends on her progress, but there will probably be one or a maximum of two interviews next week in the hope it will satisfy some of the enormous interest in her story and after which she hopes to be left alone. A decision confirming that will probably be made on Thursday."

The team of experts helping her to readjust to her new life includes Austria's top child and youth psychiatrist Professor Max Friedrich from Vienna University and social worker Monika Pinterits of the Vienna children and youth advocacy.

Yesterday an open letter to the media and the public, written by Fraulein Kampusch, was published on her behalf, explaining why she did not feel that she had suffered as a result of her captivity.

Dr Rainhard Haller, a psychiatrist who has been assigned to the case as a court expert, said that the young woman did not just see her kidnapper in a negative way but indicated that there could have been a love relationship between the two. The letter revealed that Fraulein Kampusch was not locked up in her cellar room all the time, but lived what resembled a normal life with her captor.

Dr Haller said: "Priklopil was not only the dominant and cruel kidnapper, but also a father, a friend and possibly a lover.

"The diversity of their relationship, which is proving so difficult to express, is probably a reason why she wants her private sphere protected at all costs."

His analysis was given credibility by the latest statements of Josef and Leopoldine Jantschek, Priklopil's next door neighbours.

Mr Jantschek, 66, said: "I saw the young lady in the garden quite often over the past year. They also drove off together in his car, and every time she waved at us in a friendly way."

He also said that when asked, Priklopil claimed the young woman was a "Yugoslav aide" that he had "borrowed" from a colleague to do some house work for him. Jantschek said: "We could not have known that it was the kidnapped Natascha Kampusch. When I asked him [Priklopil] whether she was his new girlfriend, he only said 'I have borrowed her from a work colleague to do some work for me'."

Police are still investigating the case and were today searching the house and the property once again, looking for other hidden rooms or compartments. They are also looking into allegations that Priklopil could have had an accomplice, as well as that he was possibly acquainted with his victim’s mother, Brigitta Sirny, despite the apparent lack of evidence for both claims. Fraulein Kampusch automatically took her mother’s maiden name after her parents divorced as required under Austrian law.

The teenager, who is presently residing in what has been described as a sanatorium-like establishment, but is free to move or make calls as she pleases, will soon be transferred to an apartment that she will reportedly share with other people her age. She will then be cared for by social workers, but will nevertheless have all that is needed for an independent life.

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