🔗 Share this article

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 woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were detected on the end of last week. The cooling units were hidden behind a plasterboard wall in the dwelling, located in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were detained in June. The elder brother, a work associate of the Syrian woman, told law enforcement last week that there had been an accident—but rejected murder.

Addressing the media earlier, a representative for the state prosecutor announced the two suspects were being detained on "serious suspicion of murder".

The identities of those involved have not been released by authorities, in accordance with local legislation.

The family's disappearance was originally brought to light by the female victim's relative, who resides in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Investigators stated the woman's colleague told them at the time she had gone on an extended trip with her daughter to see her family in Turkey.

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

Yet when investigators searched the victim's residence, her mobile phone was located.

A witness also reported listening to a loud noise in the dwelling, and screams of "mama" on the occasion the two were presumed to have gone missing.

An expanded criminal probe was initiated, with investigators finding multiple communications transmitted via the victim's mobile—including a job termination message to her employer and texts to the male colleague.

Law enforcement stated a significant cash transfer was also moved to the individual.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office informed the press on that day that a storage unit had been leased before the mother and child went missing and a cooling unit had been positioned inside.

The two suspects extracted the freezer from the facility on the day the victims vanished, the official stated. And a shortly afterward, they acquired another freezer.

Authorities say they think this suggests the demise were intentionally orchestrated.

"The cause of death was not identifiable due to the condition of the victims," Tersch commented.

The prosecutor's spokesman—from the legal authorities—noted the precise timeline is still unclear, but the bodies were carefully placed and not discovered during a prior examination.

Although the men were taken into custody in June, it was not until November 12 that the 55-year-old acknowledged an event and to concealing the remains. He denies any plan to cause death, authorities confirmed.

In a related development, his 53-year-old sibling confessed to a attempt to hide evidence but disputed awareness of a killing.

The brothers are at this time in pre-trial detention in detention centers in separate locations, situated at a distance.

Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister said the "alleged double murder... symbolizes the swift and cruel conclusion of two human lives and reveals a cruel system".

"Women and girls are being killed due to the simple reality that they are female," they went on to say.

"Murders of women are a strongly established and widespread concern that we must address decisively."