Tragic Unearthing: Bodies of Vanished Mum and Daughter Located in Freezing Units in Austria

The remains of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been discovered inside freezing appliances in an residence in the western part of Austria.

The victims, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been missing for a number of months, were found on the end of last week. The cooling units were hidden behind a plasterboard wall in the apartment, situated in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in the month of June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the female victim, stated to authorities last week that there had been an incident—but rejected intentional killing.

Addressing journalists earlier, a spokesman for the state prosecutor announced the brothers were being kept in custody on "strong suspicion of intentional killing".

Personal details of those involved have not been disclosed by authorities, in accordance with Austrian law.

Their going missing was first reported by the woman's cousin, who resides in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Authorities stated the 55-year-old suspect claimed at the time she had taken an long journey with her child to see her family in the nation of Turkey.

Her bank card was then found to have been used abroad on multiple occasions.

However when investigators searched the mother's apartment, her smartphone was discovered.

Someone also claimed hearing a disturbing sound in the flat, and screams of "mother" on the date the two were presumed to have gone missing.

A broader police investigation was started, with authorities finding various messages transmitted via the mother's device—among them a job termination message to her company and texts to the male colleague.

Officials confirmed a four-figure sum was also sent to the man.

Katja Tersch told media representatives on Tuesday that a storage facility had been secured before the mother and child went missing and a freezer had been installed within.

The male siblings removed the appliance from the storage space on the very day the victims vanished, she said. And a seven days after, they acquired another freezer.

Officials believe they consider this points to the fatalities were intentionally orchestrated.

"The cause of death remains unclear due to the state of decomposition of the bodies," the official commented.

Mayr—representing the state—stated the specific order of occurrences is yet to be determined, but the victims were expertly concealed and went unnoticed during a previous house search.

While the brothers were taken into custody in the summer, it was not until November 12 that the suspect confessed to an occurrence and to storing the victims. He disputes any intent to kill, authorities said.

In a related development, his brother confessed to a attempt to hide evidence but denied awareness of a murder.

The brothers are at this time in detention before court proceedings in prisons in separate locations, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

Via a shared communication, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister declared the "reported homicide of mother and child... symbolizes the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and reveals a cruel system".

"Female individuals are falling victim to homicide due to the simple reality that they are women and girls," they continued.

"Murders of women are a deeply rooted and society-wide problem that we must fight resolutely."