Shocking Find: Remains of Vanished Mum and Daughter Found in Freezing Units in the Alpine Nation
The remains of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been discovered inside freezers in an residence 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 the end of last week. The freezers were concealed behind a false wall in the flat, located in the Innsbruck area.
A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were arrested in June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the female victim, informed law enforcement last week that there had been an incidentābut rejected homicide.
Speaking to reporters previously, a official for the legal authorities stated the brothers were being kept in custody on "high likelihood of homicide".
The names of those implicated have not been released by police, in following Austrian law.
Their going missing was originally brought to light by the cousin of the mother, who resides in Germany, on July 25, 2024.
Investigators stated the male associate told them at the time she had gone on an long journey with her child to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.
The mother's debit card was then discovered to be utilized overseas repeatedly.
Yet when police entered the woman's home, her smartphone was located.
An individual also reported hearing a disturbing sound in the flat, and cries of "mama" on the occasion the mother and child were presumed to have gone missing.
A wider official inquiry was launched, with investigators discovering various messages originating from the victim's mobileāsuch as a notice of quitting to her employer and communications to the male associate.
Authorities said a four-figure sum was also transferred to the man.
A senior police official informed media representatives on recently that a rented space had been secured before the mother and child went missing and a cooling unit had been installed within.
The two suspects took out the appliance from the storage space on the day the victims vanished, she stated. And a seven days after, they purchased another freezer.
Officials believe they consider this indicates the fatalities were premeditated.
"The reason for their demise remains unclear due to the state of decomposition of the bodies," Tersch said.
A legal representativeāof the public prosecutor's officeānoted the specific order of occurrences is not yet known, but the victims were professionally hidden and not discovered during a prior examination.
While the brothers were detained in June, it was only on the 12th of November that the 55-year-old admitted to an event and to concealing the remains. He rejects any intent to kill, investigators said.
At the same time, his younger brother admitted to a cover-up but denied awareness of a murder.
The brothers are at this time in pre-trial detention in jails in two Austrian cities, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.
Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative said the "reported homicide of mother and child... represents the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and exposes a heartless setup".
"Women and girls are being killed due to the mere fact that they are female," they added.
"Femicides are a deeply rooted and issue affecting all of society that we must fight resolutely."