Tragic Find: Bodies of Vanished Mum and Daughter Located in Freezers in the Alpine Nation
The bodies of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been located inside freezers in an apartment in western Austria.
The deceased, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been missing for a number of months, were uncovered on the end of last week. The freezers were placed behind a plasterboard wall in the apartment, situated in the Innsbruck area.
Two individuals, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were detained in June. The older man, a work associate of the Syrian woman, told authorities last week that there had been an incident—but denied homicide.
Speaking to journalists previously, a spokesman for the legal authorities stated the pair were being kept in custody on "strong suspicion of murder".
The names of those implicated have not been disclosed by law enforcement, in compliance with Austrian law.
The vanishing of the mother and child was first reported by the cousin of the mother, who is based in Germany, on 25 July 2024.
Investigators revealed the woman's colleague told them at the time she had gone on an prolonged visit with her daughter to travel to her relatives in Turkey.
Her bank card was then discovered to be utilized overseas several times.
However when investigators entered the woman's home, her cellphone was found.
Someone also reported hearing a commotion in the flat, and cries of "mum" on the date the pair were thought to have disappeared.
A broader criminal probe was initiated, with investigators finding multiple communications originating from the victim's mobile—including a job termination message to her company and communications to the male colleague.
Officials stated a significant cash transfer was also moved to the individual.
A senior police official informed media representatives on that day that a rented space had been secured before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been installed within.
The male siblings extracted the appliance from the storage space on the date the victims vanished, the official stated. And a seven days after, they acquired an additional appliance.
Officials state they think this indicates the deaths were premeditated.
"The reason for their demise remains unclear due to the condition of the remains," Tersch commented.
The prosecutor's spokesman—representing the state—stated the precise timeline is not yet known, but the victims were expertly concealed and not discovered during a earlier inspection.
While the brothers were arrested in June, it was only on 12 November that the elder brother admitted to an occurrence and to storing the victims. He rejects any plan to cause death, authorities stated.
At the same time, his brother acknowledged a attempt to hide evidence but denied involvement in a homicide.
The brothers are at this time in pre-trial detention in jails in Innsbruck and Salzburg, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.
Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister declared the "suspected killing of two... represents the sudden and brutal end of two human lives and exposes a cruel system".
"Female individuals are falling victim to homicide due to the simple reality that they are female," they went on to say.
"Femicides are a profoundly embedded and widespread concern that we must combat firmly."
