Tragic Find: Bodies of Missing Mother and Child Found in Freezers in the Alpine Nation
The bodies of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been located inside freezers in an apartment in western Austria.
The deceased, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been missing for several months, were found on Friday. The cooling units were concealed behind a false wall in the apartment, located in the city of Innsbruck.
Two men, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the Syrian woman, told law enforcement last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but disputed intentional killing.
Informing the media previously, a official for the legal authorities said the pair were being detained on "high likelihood of intentional killing".
Personal details of those concerned have not been released by authorities, in following Austrian law.
Their going missing was originally brought to light by the cousin of the mother, who resides in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.
Police said the 55-year-old suspect claimed at the time she had taken an long journey with her daughter to see her family in Turkey.
The mother's debit card was then noted as being active overseas several times.
But when police searched the mother's apartment, her cellphone was located.
An individual also claimed hearing a disturbing sound in the apartment, and screams of "mother" on the date the two were presumed to have gone missing.
An expanded police investigation was launched, with investigators uncovering various messages sent from the mother's device—such as a notice of quitting to her company and texts to the male colleague.
Law enforcement stated a amount in the thousands was also transferred to the individual.
Katja Tersch told media representatives on Tuesday that a rented space had been secured before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been placed there.
The male siblings took out the cooling unit from the storage space on the date the victims vanished, the official said. And a week later, they purchased another freezer.
Authorities say they think this suggests the fatalities were planned in advance.
"The reason for their demise could not be determined due to the advanced decay of the victims," the official stated.
The prosecutor's spokesman—representing the state—noted the exact sequence of events is yet to be determined, but the victims were professionally hidden and went unnoticed during a prior examination.
While the men were arrested in the summer, it was not until November 12 that the suspect acknowledged an incident and to concealing the remains. He denies any plan to cause death, officials confirmed.
In a related development, his younger brother admitted to a concealment but denied knowledge of a murder.
The two suspects are presently in detention before court proceedings in prisons in two Austrian cities, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.
In a joint statement, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative stated the "suspected killing of two... symbolizes the swift and cruel conclusion of two human lives and reveals a cruel system".
"Females of all ages 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 combat firmly."