Tragic Find: Remains of Vanished Mum and Daughter Found in Freezers in Austria
The bodies of a 34-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter have been located inside freezers in an flat in the western part of Austria.
The deceased, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been missing for several months, were uncovered on the end of last week. The cooling units were concealed behind a false wall in the dwelling, situated in the Innsbruck area.
A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were arrested in June. The elder brother, a work associate of the female victim, stated to law enforcement last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but disputed murder.
Addressing the media recently, a spokesman for the state prosecutor announced the pair were being kept in custody on "high likelihood of murder".
The identities of those implicated have not been disclosed by police, in following national regulations.
The family's disappearance was initially flagged by the female victim's relative, who resides in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.
Investigators revealed the 55-year-old suspect claimed at the time she had taken an long journey with her daughter to see her family in Turkey.
Her bank card was then discovered to be utilized overseas on multiple occasions.
Yet when investigators searched the mother's apartment, her mobile phone was discovered.
An individual also stated overhearing a commotion in the dwelling, and screams of "mother" on the date the mother and child were thought to have disappeared.
An expanded police investigation was launched, with authorities finding multiple communications transmitted via the woman's phone—among them a resignation letter to her employer and texts to the male associate.
Law enforcement confirmed a significant cash transfer was also transferred to the suspect.
A senior police official told reporters on that day that a storage unit had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been placed there.
The brothers took out the appliance from the unit on the date the woman and her child disappeared, the official said. And a shortly afterward, they obtained another freezer.
Officials believe they believe this indicates the fatalities were planned in advance.
"The reason for their demise could not be determined due to the state of decomposition of the victims," Tersch commented.
Mayr—of the public prosecutor's office—stated the specific order of occurrences is not yet known, but the victims were professionally hidden and not discovered during a prior examination.
Although the brothers were arrested in the summer, it was not until 12 November that the 55-year-old acknowledged an incident and to concealing the remains. He rejects any intent to kill, officials confirmed.
Meanwhile, his brother admitted to a concealment but rejected knowledge of a killing.
The two suspects are currently in detention before court proceedings in prisons in Innsbruck and Salzburg, situated at a distance.
In a joint statement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister said the "reported homicide of mother and child... represents the abrupt and violent termination of two individuals and uncovers a cruel system".
"Females of all ages are falling victim to homicide due to the sole reason that they are women and girls," they went on to say.
"Murders of women are a profoundly embedded and society-wide problem that we must fight resolutely."
