🔗 Share this article

The deceased of a 34-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter have been found inside freezers in an residence in the western part of Austria.

The deceased, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been missing for a number of months, were detected on the end of last week. The freezers were concealed behind a plasterboard wall in the dwelling, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

A pair of males, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the Syrian woman, stated to law enforcement last week that there had been an accident—but rejected murder.

Addressing journalists earlier, a representative for the legal authorities said the pair were being kept in custody on "strong suspicion of murder".

The names of those implicated have not been disclosed by authorities, in following Austrian law.

The vanishing of the mother and child was originally brought to light by the woman's cousin, who resides in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Police said the woman's colleague claimed at the time she had taken an prolonged visit with her daughter to see her family in the nation of Turkey.

Her bank card was then discovered to be utilized overseas on multiple occasions.

Yet when officers searched the victim's residence, her cellphone was located.

A witness also claimed listening to a loud noise in the apartment, and shouts of "mama" on the occasion the mother and child were thought to have disappeared.

A wider official inquiry was started, with officers uncovering various messages sent from the victim's mobile—including a resignation letter to her workplace and texts to the 55-year-old suspect.

Authorities confirmed a amount in the thousands was also transferred to the suspect.

Katja Tersch told the press on Tuesday that a rented space had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been positioned inside.

The two suspects took out the appliance from the unit on the very day the victims vanished, she revealed. And a week later, they acquired another freezer.

Officials believe they think this suggests the demise were intentionally orchestrated.

"The reason for their demise remains unclear due to the state of decomposition of the bodies," Tersch stated.

The prosecutor's spokesman—from the legal authorities—noted the precise timeline is still unclear, but the bodies were professionally hidden and not discovered during a previous house search.

Although the men were arrested in the summer, it was not until the 12th of November that the suspect confessed to an event and to concealing the remains. He disputes any murderous intent, officials stated.

In a related development, his younger brother acknowledged a concealment but disputed involvement in a homicide.

The brothers are currently in custody awaiting trial in jails in Innsbruck and Salzburg, situated at a distance.

Via a shared communication, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister stated the "reported homicide of mother and child... represents the sudden and brutal end of two individuals and uncovers a cruel system".

"Women and girls are being murdered due to the sole reason that they are of the female gender," they went on to say.

"Femicides are a profoundly embedded and society-wide problem that we must combat firmly."