🔗 Share this article

The bodies of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been found inside freezing appliances in an apartment 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 freezers were concealed behind a drywall partition in the flat, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

Two men, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were arrested in the month of June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the Syrian woman, told authorities last week that there had been an incident—but disputed murder.

Informing the media recently, a official for the state prosecutor stated the pair were being kept in custody on "serious suspicion of murder".

Personal details of those implicated have been withheld by law enforcement, in accordance with Austrian law.

The family's disappearance was originally brought to light by the female victim's relative, who resides in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Police revealed the woman's colleague informed them at the time she had embarked on an prolonged visit with her child to see her family in Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then discovered to be utilized abroad repeatedly.

Yet when police examined the mother's apartment, her smartphone was discovered.

Someone also claimed hearing a commotion in the flat, and cries of "mum" on the occasion the mother and child were thought to have disappeared.

A wider official inquiry was initiated, with officers discovering several texts sent from the victim's mobile—such as a job termination message to her employer and communications to the male colleague.

Officials confirmed a significant cash transfer was also sent to the man.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office told media representatives on recently that a storage unit had been secured before the mother and child went missing and a freezer had been installed within.

The male siblings took out the cooling unit from the storage space on the very day the mother and daughter disappeared, the official stated. And a seven days after, they acquired another freezer.

Authorities believe they think this points to the fatalities were planned in advance.

"The reason for their demise could not be determined due to the state of decomposition of the remains," she said.

A legal representative—of the public prosecutor's office—noted the exact sequence of events is not yet known, but the remains were expertly concealed and not discovered during a prior examination.

While the suspects were detained in June, it was not until 12 November that the 55-year-old acknowledged an event and to concealing the remains. He disputes any murderous intent, officials said.

Meanwhile, his 53-year-old sibling acknowledged a attempt to hide evidence but denied involvement in a murder.

The brothers are at this time in detention before court proceedings in jails in two Austrian cities, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister said the "alleged double murder... symbolizes the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and exposes a brutal scheme".

"Females of all ages are being killed due to the mere fact that they are women and girls," they went on to say.

"Murders of women are a strongly established and issue affecting all of society that we must address decisively."