🔗 Share this article

The remains of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been located inside freezers in an apartment in the western part of Austria.

The victims, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been missing for several months, were found on the end of last week. The cooling units were concealed behind a plasterboard wall in the apartment, located in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were detained in June. The elder brother, a work associate of the Syrian woman, told law enforcement last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but denied intentional killing.

Addressing the media earlier, a representative for the state prosecutor announced the two suspects were being held on "strong suspicion of intentional killing".

The names of those implicated have not been released by authorities, in following local legislation.

The vanishing of the mother and child was initially flagged by the female victim's relative, who resides in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Authorities said the woman's colleague told them at the time she had embarked on an long journey with her daughter to travel to her relatives in the nation of Turkey.

The mother's debit card was then found to have been used abroad on multiple occasions.

However when officers searched the mother's apartment, her smartphone was located.

A witness also reported listening to a commotion in the apartment, and shouts of "mum" on the date the two were thought to have disappeared.

An expanded criminal probe was started, with investigators discovering various messages transmitted via the victim's mobile—such as a job termination message to her employer and communications to the male associate.

Officials stated a amount in the thousands was also sent to the man.

Katja Tersch stated to the press on that day that a rented space had been secured before the mother and child went missing and a freezing appliance had been positioned inside.

The two suspects extracted the cooling unit from the storage space on the date the victims disappeared, the official said. And a shortly afterward, they obtained a second unit.

Authorities believe they consider this indicates the fatalities were premeditated.

"How they died remains unclear due to the condition of the remains," the official said.

A legal representative—representing the state—noted the specific order of occurrences is yet to be determined, but the bodies were carefully placed and not discovered during a prior examination.

Although the men were taken into custody in June, it was only on November 12 that the suspect confessed to an event and to hiding the bodies. He disputes any murderous intent, investigators stated.

Meanwhile, his 53-year-old sibling confessed to a concealment but disputed knowledge of a homicide.

The two suspects are currently in pre-trial detention in prisons in Innsbruck and Salzburg, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative stated the "alleged double murder... constitutes the swift and cruel conclusion of two individuals and exposes a heartless setup".

"Women and girls are falling victim to homicide due to the sole reason that they are women and girls," they added.

"Gender-based killings are a deeply rooted and widespread concern that we must combat firmly."