Disturbing Discovery: Remains of Vanished Mum and Daughter Found in Freezers in the Alpine Nation
The deceased of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been located inside freezers in an residence in western Austria.
The deceased, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were detected on the end of last week. The freezers were concealed behind a plasterboard wall in the flat, located in the city of Innsbruck.
Two individuals, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were detained in June. The older man, a work associate of the Syrian woman, stated to law enforcement last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but rejected intentional killing.
Informing the media earlier, a official for the state prosecutor stated the brothers were being held on "high likelihood of murder".
The identities of those involved have not been released by authorities, in following local legislation.
The family's disappearance was first reported by the cousin of the mother, who lives in Germany, on July 25, 2024.
Investigators stated the woman's colleague told them at the time she had embarked on an long journey with her child to travel to her relatives in Turkey.
The mother's debit card was then found to have been used abroad repeatedly.
But when investigators entered the mother's apartment, her mobile phone was found.
A witness also reported overhearing a commotion in the dwelling, and screams of "mother" on the occasion the mother and child were thought to have disappeared.
A broader police investigation was initiated, with officers finding several texts sent from the woman's phone—including a resignation letter to her company and texts to the male associate.
Authorities confirmed a significant cash transfer was also moved to the individual.
A senior police official informed reporters on recently that a storage unit had been secured before the mother and child went missing and a cooling unit had been placed there.
The two suspects extracted the cooling unit from the storage space on the very day the victims vanished, the official said. And a seven days after, they purchased an additional appliance.
Authorities say they think this indicates the fatalities were intentionally orchestrated.
"How they died was not identifiable due to the state of decomposition of the bodies," she commented.
A legal representative—representing the state—noted the precise timeline is still unclear, but the remains were professionally hidden and were not found during a prior examination.
While the suspects were arrested in June, it was not until the 12th of November that the elder brother confessed to an occurrence and to hiding the bodies. He disputes any murderous intent, investigators stated.
At the same time, his 53-year-old sibling acknowledged a concealment but denied awareness of a murder.
The two suspects are presently in detention before court proceedings in detention centers in Innsbruck and Salzburg, around 117 miles (189km) apart.
Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and the top legal representative stated the "reported homicide of mother and child... constitutes the sudden and brutal end of two individuals and exposes a cruel system".
"Females of all ages are being killed due to the sole reason that they are of the female gender," they continued.
"Gender-based killings are a profoundly embedded and widespread concern that we must address decisively."