Tragic Unearthing: Bodies of Missing Mother and Child Located in Freezing Units in the Alpine Nation
The deceased of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been discovered inside freezers in an flat in western Austria.
The deceased, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were found on the end of last week. The freezers were placed behind a drywall partition in the flat, situated in the Innsbruck area.
Two men, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were detained in the month of June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the female victim, informed police last week that there had been an incident—but rejected murder.
Speaking to reporters earlier, a spokesman for the legal authorities announced the two suspects were being kept in custody on "high likelihood of homicide".
Personal details of those concerned have not been disclosed by police, in following Austrian law.
Their going missing was first reported by the cousin of the mother, who is based in Germany, on 25 July 2024.
Investigators revealed the 55-year-old suspect claimed at the time she had gone on an extended trip with her child to travel to her relatives in the nation of Turkey.
The mother's debit card was then discovered to be utilized in foreign locations several times.
Yet when police examined the woman's home, her smartphone was found.
An individual also claimed listening to a commotion in the apartment, and shouts of "mother" on the occasion the mother and child were presumed to have gone missing.
An expanded criminal probe was started, with investigators uncovering several texts sent from the victim's mobile—such as a job termination message to her company and messages to the 55-year-old suspect.
Authorities confirmed a amount in the thousands was also sent to the individual.
A senior police official informed reporters on that day that a storage facility had been secured before the vanishing and a freezer had been installed within.
The brothers took out the freezer from the storage space on the day the victims disappeared, she stated. And a week later, they acquired an additional appliance.
Authorities state they believe this suggests the fatalities were premeditated.
"The cause of death could not be determined due to the condition of the victims," Tersch commented.
The prosecutor's spokesman—of the public prosecutor's office—noted the exact sequence of events is yet to be determined, but the victims were professionally hidden and went unnoticed during a previous house search.
While the suspects were detained in the summer, it was not until the 12th of November that the suspect admitted to an incident and to concealing the remains. He rejects any intent to kill, authorities confirmed.
Meanwhile, his brother admitted to a concealment but denied involvement in a homicide.
The two suspects are currently in pre-trial detention in jails in two Austrian cities, situated at a distance.
Via a shared communication, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister declared the "alleged double murder... symbolizes the abrupt and violent termination of two individuals and reveals a heartless setup".
"Female individuals are falling victim to homicide due to the simple reality that they are of the female gender," they added.
"Gender-based killings are a deeply rooted and widespread concern that we must combat firmly."
