Shocking Discovery: Bodies of Missing Mother and Child Found in Freezing Units in Austria
The deceased of a 34-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter have been found inside freezers in an flat in the western part of Austria.
The deceased, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were found on the end of last week. The freezers were concealed behind a drywall partition in the apartment, located in the city of Innsbruck.
A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were arrested in June. The elder brother, a colleague of the female victim, told authorities last week that there had been an incident—but denied homicide.
Informing reporters recently, a representative for the legal authorities said the two suspects were being kept in custody on "serious suspicion of homicide".
The names of those involved have been withheld by law enforcement, in following Austrian law.
The family's disappearance was initially flagged by the female victim's relative, who is based in Germany, on July 25, 2024.
Authorities said the male associate claimed at the time she had embarked on an prolonged visit with her daughter to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.
The mother's debit card was then noted as being active overseas several times.
Yet when investigators entered the victim's residence, her smartphone was discovered.
A witness also claimed hearing a disturbing sound in the apartment, and screams of "mama" on the occasion the mother and child were thought to have disappeared.
A wider criminal probe was initiated, with officers finding multiple communications originating from the woman's phone—such as a resignation letter to her workplace and texts to the male colleague.
Law enforcement stated a amount in the thousands was also moved to the suspect.
A senior police official informed reporters on that day that a storage unit had been rented out before the vanishing and a freezing appliance had been positioned inside.
The two suspects took out the appliance from the unit on the day the mother and daughter disappeared, Tersch said. And a seven days after, they purchased an additional appliance.
Authorities believe they believe this indicates the deaths were intentionally orchestrated.
"The reason for their demise remains unclear due to the condition of the bodies," she said.
The prosecutor's spokesman—of the public prosecutor's office—said the precise timeline is yet to be determined, but the victims were professionally hidden and not discovered during a earlier inspection.
Although the suspects were detained in June, it was only on the 12th of November that the elder brother acknowledged an event and to storing the victims. He disputes any intent to kill, officials stated.
Meanwhile, his younger brother acknowledged a cover-up but disputed knowledge of a killing.
The two suspects are currently in custody awaiting trial in detention centers in two Austrian cities, around 117 miles (189km) apart.
Via a shared communication, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative stated the "alleged double murder... symbolizes the abrupt and violent termination of two individuals and uncovers a brutal scheme".
"Females of all ages are being killed due to the sole reason that they are of the female gender," they added.
"Femicides are a profoundly embedded and issue affecting all of society that we must combat firmly."
