🔗 Share this article

The deceased of a 34-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter have been discovered inside freezing appliances in an apartment in the western part of Austria.

The deceased, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been missing for a number of months, were detected on the end of last week. The cooling units were concealed behind a plasterboard wall in the apartment, situated in the Innsbruck area.

Two men, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were detained in the month of June. The 55-year-old, a work associate of the Syrian woman, informed authorities last week that there had been an accident—but rejected intentional killing.

Speaking to reporters recently, a representative for the public prosecutor's office said the brothers were being held on "serious suspicion of murder".

The identities of those concerned have not been released by police, in following local legislation.

The vanishing of the mother and child was initially flagged by the woman's cousin, who lives in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Investigators revealed the 55-year-old suspect told them at the time she had embarked on an prolonged visit with her daughter to travel to her relatives in the nation of Turkey.

Her bank card was then noted as being active in foreign locations several times.

Yet when investigators examined the victim's residence, her cellphone was located.

An individual also stated hearing a commotion in the dwelling, and shouts of "mama" on the date the two were presumed to have gone missing.

A broader official inquiry was initiated, with officers finding multiple communications originating from the victim's mobile—including a job termination message to her workplace and communications to the male colleague.

Law enforcement confirmed a amount in the thousands was also moved to the man.

Katja Tersch stated to reporters on Tuesday that a storage facility had been leased before the vanishing and a cooling unit had been installed within.

The male siblings extracted the freezer from the storage space on the date the victims vanished, she stated. And a seven days after, they acquired an additional appliance.

Authorities state they believe this indicates the demise were planned in advance.

"The cause of death was not identifiable due to the advanced decay of the remains," Tersch stated.

A legal representative—of the public prosecutor's office—stated the exact sequence of events is yet to be determined, but the bodies were professionally hidden and were not found during a prior examination.

Although the suspects were taken into custody in the summer, it was only on November 12 that the elder brother admitted to an occurrence and to hiding the bodies. He disputes any plan to cause death, officials stated.

Meanwhile, his 53-year-old sibling admitted to a attempt to hide evidence but rejected involvement in a homicide.

The brothers are currently in custody awaiting trial in prisons in two Austrian cities, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

In a joint statement, the nation's official for women's affairs and the top legal representative stated the "reported homicide of mother and child... symbolizes the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and exposes a brutal scheme".

"Female individuals are being murdered due to the sole reason that they are women and girls," they added.

"Gender-based killings are a strongly established and issue affecting all of society that we must combat firmly."