Disturbing Find: Bodies of Vanished Mother and Child Found in Freezers in Austria
The deceased of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been found inside freezing appliances in an residence in the western part of Austria.
The deceased, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were uncovered on Friday. The freezers were hidden behind a false wall in the dwelling, located in the city of Innsbruck.
A pair of males, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were taken into custody in the month of June. The 55-year-old, a work associate of the Syrian woman, informed law enforcement last week that there had been an incident—but denied intentional killing.
Informing the media recently, a representative for the legal authorities announced the pair were being detained on "high likelihood of homicide".
Personal details of those involved have not been released by police, in accordance with Austrian law.
Their going missing was initially flagged by the female victim's relative, who is based in Germany, on 25 July 2024.
Police said the woman's colleague claimed at the time she had embarked on an prolonged visit with her daughter to travel to her relatives in the nation of Turkey.
The mother's debit card was then noted as being active in foreign locations several times.
However when officers searched the mother's apartment, her smartphone was discovered.
A witness also claimed listening to a commotion in the flat, and cries of "mama" on the day the mother and child were thought to have disappeared.
An expanded official inquiry was initiated, with authorities discovering several texts sent from the woman's phone—such as a notice of quitting to her company and communications to the male associate.
Authorities confirmed a significant cash transfer was also moved to the individual.
Katja Tersch stated to reporters on Tuesday that a storage facility had been leased before the mother and child went missing and a freezer had been installed within.
The male siblings extracted the freezer from the storage space on the very day the mother and daughter disappeared, Tersch revealed. And a seven days after, they purchased an additional appliance.
Investigators state they think this indicates the fatalities were intentionally orchestrated.
"How they died could not be determined due to the advanced decay of the remains," she said.
Mayr—from the legal authorities—said the exact sequence of events is still unclear, but the remains were carefully placed and were not found during a previous house search.
Although the men were detained in the summer, it was not until the 12th of November that the elder brother acknowledged an event and to storing the victims. He disputes any plan to cause death, officials stated.
Meanwhile, his 53-year-old sibling admitted to a cover-up but disputed knowledge of a homicide.
The two suspects are presently in pre-trial detention in prisons in separate locations, situated at a distance.
Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister declared the "suspected killing of two... symbolizes the sudden and brutal end of two individuals and uncovers a cruel system".
"Female individuals are falling victim to homicide due to the sole reason that they are of the female gender," they added.
"Femicides are a strongly established and issue affecting all of society that we must address decisively."