Shocking Find: Bodies of Vanished Mum and Daughter Found in Freezers in the Alpine Nation
The deceased of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been discovered inside freezing appliances in an apartment in western Austria.
The victims, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were uncovered on the end of last week. The cooling units were concealed behind a plasterboard wall in the dwelling, situated in the city of Innsbruck.
Two individuals, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were taken into custody in the month of June. The elder brother, a colleague of the Syrian woman, told law enforcement last week that there had been an incident—but denied murder.
Addressing the media previously, a official for the legal authorities said the two suspects were being held on "serious suspicion of homicide".
The names of those involved have been withheld by police, in accordance with local legislation.
Their going missing was first reported by the woman's cousin, who lives in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.
Police stated the male associate claimed at the time she had taken an extended trip with her daughter to see her family in the nation of Turkey.
The mother's debit card was then noted as being active overseas on multiple occasions.
However when investigators searched the victim's residence, her mobile phone was found.
A witness also stated listening to a disturbing sound in the dwelling, and screams of "mother" on the occasion the mother and child were presumed to have gone missing.
An expanded police investigation was started, with investigators discovering multiple communications originating from the woman's phone—such as a resignation letter to her company and messages to the male associate.
Authorities confirmed a significant cash transfer was also moved to the individual.
The head of the State Criminal Police Office informed reporters on Tuesday that a storage facility had been secured before the mother and child went missing and a cooling unit had been positioned inside.
The male siblings extracted the appliance from the storage space on the very day the woman and her child vanished, she said. And a seven days after, they acquired a second unit.
Authorities say they think this points to the demise were planned in advance.
"The reason for their demise was not identifiable due to the advanced decay of the victims," she stated.
A legal representative—representing the state—said the specific order of occurrences is still unclear, but the remains were professionally hidden and were not found during a prior examination.
While the men were detained in the summer, it was only on November 12 that the 55-year-old admitted to an incident and to hiding the bodies. He rejects any murderous intent, officials stated.
At the same time, his 53-year-old sibling admitted to a attempt to hide evidence but disputed involvement in a killing.
The pair are currently in detention before court proceedings in jails in separate locations, situated at a distance.
Via a shared communication, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative said the "alleged double murder... represents the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and exposes a cruel system".
"Females of all ages are falling victim to homicide due to the simple reality that they are female," they continued.
"Gender-based killings are a deeply rooted and society-wide problem that we must fight resolutely."