🔗 Share this article

The remains of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been discovered inside freezers in an apartment in western Austria.

The victims, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been missing for several months, were found on the end of last week. The cooling units were concealed behind a plasterboard wall in the flat, situated in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in June. The older man, a work associate of the female victim, informed law enforcement last week that there had been an accident—but disputed murder.

Addressing reporters recently, a spokesman for the state prosecutor announced the pair were being held on "strong suspicion of murder".

Personal details of those involved have been withheld by law enforcement, in compliance with national regulations.

The family's disappearance was originally brought to light by the cousin of the mother, who lives in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Authorities stated the male associate told them at the time she had gone on an extended trip with her daughter to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then discovered to be utilized in foreign locations repeatedly.

However when police searched the mother's apartment, her smartphone was discovered.

An individual also stated hearing a loud noise in the dwelling, and cries of "mother" on the day the mother and child were believed to have vanished.

A broader criminal probe was launched, with investigators discovering several texts transmitted via the victim's mobile—including a resignation letter to her employer and messages to the male colleague.

Authorities said a significant cash transfer was also sent to the man.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office informed the press on Tuesday that a storage unit had been leased before the vanishing and a freezer had been placed there.

The two suspects extracted the freezer from the unit on the day the mother and daughter disappeared, the official revealed. And a seven days after, they acquired an additional appliance.

Authorities say they think this indicates the demise were premeditated.

"The reason for their demise was not identifiable due to the advanced decay of the bodies," the official commented.

A legal representative—from the legal authorities—stated the specific order of occurrences is yet to be determined, but the remains were carefully placed and went unnoticed during a previous house search.

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 denies any intent to kill, investigators confirmed.

Meanwhile, his brother confessed to a attempt to hide evidence but rejected involvement in a killing.

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... symbolizes the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and exposes a cruel system".

"Females of all ages are being killed due to the sole reason that they are women and girls," they added.

"Murders of women are a strongly established and issue affecting all of society that we must address decisively."