Disturbing Find: Bodies of Missing Mum and Daughter Found in Freezers in Austria
The remains of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been located inside freezing appliances in an flat in the western part of Austria.
The victims, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been missing for several months, were uncovered on the end of last week. The cooling units were placed behind a false wall in the flat, located in the city of Innsbruck.
A pair of males, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were detained in June. The elder brother, a work associate of the female victim, stated to law enforcement last week that there had been an incident—but rejected intentional killing.
Informing the media recently, a representative for the public prosecutor's office stated the two suspects were being held on "strong suspicion of intentional killing".
The identities of those implicated have been withheld by police, in accordance with national regulations.
Their going missing was originally brought to light by the female victim's relative, who is based in Germany, on July 25, 2024.
Police stated the woman's colleague claimed at the time she had gone on an prolonged visit with her daughter to see her family in Turkey.
The victim's bank card was then discovered to be utilized overseas repeatedly.
Yet when police entered the mother's apartment, her mobile phone was found.
A witness also reported hearing a commotion in the flat, and cries of "mum" on the occasion the two were believed to have vanished.
A wider criminal probe was initiated, with investigators finding various messages transmitted via the victim's mobile—among them a notice of quitting to her company and messages to the 55-year-old suspect.
Law enforcement said a amount in the thousands was also sent to the suspect.
The head of the State Criminal Police Office informed media representatives on Tuesday that a storage facility had been leased before the vanishing and a cooling unit had been positioned inside.
The male siblings removed the freezer from the facility on the very day the mother and daughter disappeared, the official stated. And a week later, they purchased another freezer.
Authorities say they believe this suggests the fatalities were planned in advance.
"The cause of death could not be determined due to the advanced decay of the victims," the official said.
A legal representative—representing the state—stated the specific order of occurrences is not yet known, but the victims were professionally hidden and went unnoticed during a prior examination.
While the men were arrested in June, it was not until the 12th of November that the elder brother admitted to an event and to concealing the remains. He rejects any intent to kill, investigators confirmed.
In a related development, his brother admitted to a concealment but rejected involvement in a murder.
The pair are presently in pre-trial detention in detention centers in Innsbruck and Salzburg, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.
Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister declared the "alleged double murder... constitutes the abrupt and violent termination of two individuals and reveals a brutal scheme".
"Women and girls are falling victim to homicide due to the sole reason that they are of the female gender," they went on to say.
"Murders of women are a profoundly embedded and issue affecting all of society that we must combat firmly."
