Disturbing Unearthing: Remains of Missing Mother and Child Located in Freezers in the Alpine Nation
The deceased of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been located inside freezing appliances in an residence in the western part of Austria.
The victims, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were uncovered on the end of last week. The freezers were placed behind a plasterboard wall in the flat, situated in the city of Innsbruck.
A pair of males, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were arrested in June. The elder brother, a work associate of the Syrian woman, informed police last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but denied intentional killing.
Speaking to the media previously, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office stated the brothers were being kept in custody on "strong suspicion of murder".
Personal details of those involved have not been disclosed by police, in accordance with Austrian law.
The family's disappearance was initially flagged by the female victim's relative, who is based in Germany, on 25 July 2024.
Investigators revealed the woman's colleague claimed at the time she had gone on an extended trip with her child to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.
The victim's bank card was then noted as being active overseas on multiple occasions.
Yet when police searched the woman's home, her cellphone was found.
A witness also stated listening to a disturbing sound in the apartment, and screams of "mother" on the date the mother and child were thought to have disappeared.
A wider official inquiry was started, with officers uncovering several texts originating from the mother's device—such as a resignation letter to her company and communications to the 55-year-old suspect.
Officials confirmed a amount in the thousands was also moved to the suspect.
Katja Tersch told the press on Tuesday that a storage unit had been rented out before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been installed within.
The two suspects extracted the appliance from the storage space on the very day the mother and daughter vanished, the official stated. And a seven days after, they purchased another freezer.
Authorities believe they think this indicates the demise were planned in advance.
"The cause of death remains unclear due to the condition of the victims," the official said.
A legal representative—of the public prosecutor's office—noted the precise timeline is yet to be determined, but the victims were carefully placed and not discovered during a previous house search.
While the men were arrested in June, it was not until November 12 that the suspect confessed to an event and to hiding the bodies. He denies any intent to kill, officials confirmed.
In a related development, his brother confessed to a cover-up but rejected involvement in a homicide.
The pair are at this time in custody awaiting trial in prisons in two Austrian cities, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.
Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister stated the "alleged double murder... constitutes the swift and cruel conclusion of two human lives and reveals a brutal scheme".
"Women and girls are being killed due to the mere fact that they are women and girls," they went on to say.
"Gender-based killings are a strongly established and issue affecting all of society that we must fight resolutely."