🔗 Share this article

The remains of a 34-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter have been located inside freezing appliances in an flat in western Austria.

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been missing for a number of months, were found on Friday. The freezers were concealed behind a false wall in the flat, located 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 55-year-old, a colleague of the female victim, stated to law enforcement last week that there had been an incident—but rejected homicide.

Speaking to the media earlier, a official for the legal authorities said the brothers were being detained on "serious suspicion of murder".

Personal details of those implicated have not been released by law enforcement, in accordance with Austrian law.

The vanishing of the mother and child was first reported by the cousin of the mother, who lives in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Police revealed the woman's colleague claimed at the time she had embarked on an extended trip with her daughter to visit her parents in Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then found to have been used in foreign locations on multiple occasions.

But when officers entered the mother's apartment, her mobile phone was found.

A witness also stated hearing a disturbing sound in the flat, and screams of "mother" on the occasion the pair were presumed to have gone missing.

A broader criminal probe was initiated, with investigators uncovering multiple communications originating from the woman's phone—such as a job termination message to her workplace and communications to the male associate.

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

Katja Tersch stated to reporters on recently that a rented space had been secured before the victims' disappearance and a freezing appliance had been installed within.

The two suspects took out the freezer from the facility on the day the victims vanished, she said. And a week later, they obtained a second unit.

Officials say they think this suggests the deaths were planned in advance.

"How they died was not identifiable due to the advanced decay of the remains," she commented.

Mayr—of the public prosecutor's office—noted the specific order of occurrences is yet to be determined, but the bodies were expertly concealed and were not found during a prior examination.

Although the brothers were taken into custody in June, it was not until November 12 that the 55-year-old acknowledged an incident and to hiding the bodies. He rejects any plan to cause death, authorities said.

Meanwhile, his younger brother confessed to a attempt to hide evidence but denied awareness of a killing.

The pair are currently in pre-trial detention in detention centers in separate locations, situated at a distance.

Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister said the "alleged double murder... symbolizes the swift and cruel conclusion of two human lives and reveals a heartless setup".

"Female individuals are falling victim to homicide due to the simple reality that they are female," they added.

"Femicides are a strongly established and issue affecting all of society that we must combat firmly."