Disturbing Discovery: Bodies of Vanished Mother and Child Located in Freezers in the Alpine Nation
The remains of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been found inside freezing appliances in an flat in the western part of Austria.
The deceased, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been missing for several months, were found on the end of last week. The freezers were hidden behind a drywall partition in the dwelling, situated in the Innsbruck area.
Two men, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were detained in June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the Syrian woman, told police last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but rejected murder.
Informing reporters recently, a official for the state prosecutor announced the brothers were being detained on "serious suspicion of murder".
The names of those implicated have not been released by authorities, in compliance with local legislation.
The vanishing of the mother and child was first reported by the woman's cousin, who is based in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.
Police said the 55-year-old suspect claimed at the time she had embarked on an prolonged visit with her daughter to visit her parents in Turkey.
The mother's debit card was then found to have been used abroad repeatedly.
Yet when police entered the victim's residence, her smartphone was found.
Someone also stated hearing a disturbing sound in the dwelling, and shouts of "mother" on the date the two were thought to have disappeared.
An expanded police investigation was launched, with officers finding multiple communications transmitted via the mother's device—among them a resignation letter to her company and texts to the male colleague.
Officials said a amount in the thousands was also sent to the man.
A senior police official told the press on that day that a rented space had been secured before the vanishing and a cooling unit had been positioned inside.
The two suspects removed the freezer from the facility on the very day the mother and daughter went missing, she said. And a week later, they purchased an additional appliance.
Authorities believe they think this indicates the fatalities were planned in advance.
"How they died was not identifiable due to the condition of the remains," the official commented.
A legal representative—representing the state—stated the specific order of occurrences is still unclear, but the bodies were expertly concealed and went unnoticed during a prior examination.
Although the men were detained in June, it was not until the 12th of November that the elder brother confessed to an incident and to hiding the bodies. He disputes any intent to kill, officials confirmed.
Meanwhile, his younger brother acknowledged a concealment but denied involvement in a homicide.
The two suspects are presently in custody awaiting trial in prisons in separate locations, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.
In a joint statement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister declared the "alleged double murder... constitutes the sudden and brutal end of a mother and child and uncovers a cruel system".
"Female individuals are being murdered due to the simple reality that they are women and girls," they added.
"Murders of women are a profoundly embedded and widespread concern that we must address decisively."
