Shocking Find: Bodies of Vanished Mum and Daughter Located in Freezers in Austria
The deceased of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been located inside freezing appliances in an apartment in the western part of Austria.
The deceased, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been missing for a number of months, were uncovered on Friday. The cooling units were placed behind a plasterboard wall in the flat, situated in the city of Innsbruck.
Two individuals, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were detained in June. The older man, a work associate of the female victim, stated to police last week that there had been an incident—but rejected murder.
Informing reporters recently, a representative for the state prosecutor said the brothers were being held on "high likelihood of intentional killing".
The identities of those involved have been withheld by law enforcement, in following Austrian law.
The vanishing of the mother and child was originally brought to light by the woman's cousin, who resides in Germany, on 25 July 2024.
Police revealed the male associate claimed at the time she had gone on an long journey with her child to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.
The victim's bank card was then discovered to be utilized abroad repeatedly.
However when investigators entered the mother's apartment, her smartphone was located.
A witness also claimed hearing a loud noise in the flat, and cries of "mother" on the date the two were believed to have vanished.
A wider criminal probe was started, with officers uncovering several texts originating from the mother's device—among them a job termination message to her company and messages to the male colleague.
Authorities confirmed a four-figure sum was also sent to the individual.
A senior police official informed the press on that day that a rented space had been rented out before the mother and child went missing and a freezing appliance had been placed there.
The brothers extracted the appliance from the unit on the day the victims vanished, Tersch said. And a seven days after, they obtained an additional appliance.
Investigators state they think this suggests the fatalities were intentionally orchestrated.
"The reason for their demise was not identifiable due to the state of decomposition of the bodies," the official commented.
A legal representative—representing the state—noted the precise timeline is still unclear, but the bodies were professionally hidden and went unnoticed during a earlier inspection.
Although the brothers were detained in the summer, it was not until 12 November that the 55-year-old confessed to an event and to hiding the bodies. He disputes any murderous intent, investigators confirmed.
Meanwhile, his younger brother acknowledged a cover-up but rejected knowledge of a homicide.
The two suspects are presently in detention before court proceedings in prisons in separate locations, situated at a distance.
Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister declared the "reported homicide of mother and child... constitutes the sudden and brutal end of a mother and child and uncovers a brutal scheme".
"Women and girls are being murdered due to the sole reason that they are women and girls," they went on to say.
"Femicides are a strongly established and society-wide problem that we must combat firmly."
