Shocking Find: Bodies of Missing Mum and Daughter Located in Freezers in Austria
The deceased of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been located inside freezing appliances in an flat in the western part of Austria.
The victims, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been missing for a number of months, were uncovered on Friday. The cooling units were placed behind a plasterboard wall in the flat, situated in the Innsbruck area.
Two individuals, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were taken into custody in the month of June. The older man, a work associate of the female victim, informed law enforcement last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but rejected intentional killing.
Informing the media recently, a spokesman for the state prosecutor announced the brothers were being kept in custody on "serious suspicion of murder".
The names of those implicated have not been disclosed by police, in accordance with local legislation.
Their going missing was first reported by the woman's cousin, who lives in Germany, on July 25, 2024.
Police stated the male associate claimed at the time she had embarked on an long journey with her child to see her family in the nation of Turkey.
Her bank card was then found to have been used overseas several times.
Yet when investigators examined the woman's home, her cellphone was located.
A witness also claimed hearing a loud noise in the apartment, and cries of "mama" on the occasion the two were thought to have disappeared.
A wider criminal probe was launched, with authorities uncovering multiple communications transmitted via the mother's device—such as a notice of quitting to her company and communications to the male colleague.
Authorities said a four-figure sum was also sent to the individual.
Katja Tersch stated to media representatives on Tuesday that a rented space had been rented out before the victims' disappearance and a cooling unit had been placed there.
The two suspects extracted the appliance from the storage space on the very day the victims vanished, she revealed. And a shortly afterward, they obtained another freezer.
Authorities say they consider this points to the deaths were premeditated.
"The reason for their demise was not identifiable due to the condition of the bodies," the official commented.
A legal representative—from the legal authorities—stated the exact sequence of events is still unclear, but the bodies were carefully placed and not discovered during a previous house search.
Although the men were arrested in the summer, it was only on November 12 that the 55-year-old admitted to an event and to concealing the remains. He disputes any plan to cause death, investigators said.
Meanwhile, his 53-year-old sibling admitted to a cover-up but rejected knowledge of a murder.
The pair are at this time in custody awaiting trial in jails in separate locations, around 117 miles (189km) apart.
Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister declared the "reported homicide of mother and child... symbolizes the sudden and brutal end of two individuals and exposes a heartless setup".
"Women and girls are falling victim to homicide due to the simple reality that they are female," they continued.
"Murders of women are a deeply rooted and issue affecting all of society that we must address decisively."
