Shocking Discovery: Bodies of Vanished Mother and Child Found in Freezing Units in Austria
The remains of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been found inside freezers in an flat in western Austria.
The deceased, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been missing for a number of months, were uncovered on the end of last week. The cooling units were hidden behind a plasterboard wall in the dwelling, situated in the city of Innsbruck.
Two men, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were detained in the month of June. The older man, a colleague of the female victim, informed law enforcement last week that there had been an incident—but disputed homicide.
Speaking to journalists earlier, a representative for the legal authorities announced the brothers were being detained on "serious suspicion of murder".
Personal details of those concerned have not been disclosed by authorities, in accordance with local legislation.
The vanishing of the mother and child was first reported by the cousin of the mother, who lives in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.
Authorities stated the 55-year-old suspect claimed at the time she had gone on an long journey with her daughter to travel to her relatives in Turkey.
The mother's debit card was then found to have been used overseas repeatedly.
Yet when police searched the mother's apartment, her cellphone was found.
Someone also reported hearing a disturbing sound in the apartment, and shouts of "mama" on the date the mother and child were believed to have vanished.
A wider criminal probe was launched, with authorities discovering several texts sent from the mother's device—among them a resignation letter to her company and texts to the male colleague.
Authorities stated a four-figure sum was also transferred to the suspect.
A senior police official informed the press on recently that a rented space had been rented out before the victims' disappearance and a freezing appliance had been installed within.
The two suspects removed the cooling unit from the facility on the very day the mother and daughter vanished, the official stated. And a seven days after, they acquired an additional appliance.
Officials state they consider this suggests the deaths were planned in advance.
"The reason for their demise was not identifiable due to the state of decomposition of the bodies," Tersch stated.
A legal representative—representing the state—said the specific order of occurrences is still unclear, but the bodies were expertly concealed and went unnoticed during a prior examination.
While the men were detained in June, it was only on November 12 that the 55-year-old acknowledged an event and to concealing the remains. He rejects any intent to kill, investigators confirmed.
Meanwhile, his 53-year-old sibling acknowledged a attempt to hide evidence but denied awareness of a killing.
The pair are at this time in custody awaiting trial in detention centers in separate locations, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.
Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister declared the "suspected killing of two... constitutes the swift and cruel conclusion of two individuals and reveals a brutal scheme".
"Females of all ages are being murdered due to the sole reason that they are of the female gender," they went on to say.
"Murders of women are a strongly established and issue affecting all of society that we must address decisively."
