🔗 Share this article

The bodies of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been discovered inside freezing appliances 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 Friday. The freezers were placed behind a drywall partition in the apartment, located in the city of Innsbruck.

Two individuals, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were taken into custody in June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the female victim, told authorities last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but rejected murder.

Addressing the media previously, a representative for the legal authorities said the two suspects were being detained on "strong suspicion of murder".

Personal details of those involved have not been released by authorities, in compliance with local legislation.

Their going missing was originally brought to light by the female victim's relative, who is based in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Investigators revealed the male associate claimed at the time she had taken an long journey with her child to see her family in the nation of Turkey.

The mother's debit card was then discovered to be utilized overseas several times.

But when investigators searched the mother's apartment, her mobile phone was located.

A witness also reported listening to a commotion in the flat, and cries of "mama" on the date the pair were believed to have vanished.

A wider criminal probe was launched, with officers uncovering various messages transmitted via the victim's mobile—including a job termination message to her employer and communications to the 55-year-old suspect.

Law enforcement said a significant cash transfer was also sent to the suspect.

A senior police official informed the press on recently that a storage unit had been leased before the vanishing and a freezer had been installed within.

The male siblings extracted the freezer from the unit on the very day the victims disappeared, she said. And a seven days after, they acquired another freezer.

Officials say they consider this suggests the fatalities were premeditated.

"The reason for their demise was not identifiable due to the state of decomposition of the bodies," the official stated.

The prosecutor's spokesman—of the public prosecutor's office—said the exact sequence of events is not yet known, but the bodies were expertly concealed and went unnoticed during a previous house search.

Although the suspects were detained in the summer, it was not until the 12th of November that the elder brother acknowledged an occurrence and to storing the victims. He denies any murderous intent, authorities confirmed.

In a related development, his brother acknowledged a cover-up but disputed knowledge of a homicide.

The pair are at this time in custody awaiting trial in detention centers in separate locations, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

In a joint statement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister said the "suspected killing of two... constitutes the abrupt and violent termination of a mother and child and uncovers a brutal scheme".

"Female individuals are being murdered due to the mere fact that they are of the female gender," they added.

"Gender-based killings are a strongly established and widespread concern that we must fight resolutely."