🔗 Share this article

The deceased of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been found inside freezing appliances in an apartment in western Austria.

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been missing for a number of months, were uncovered on the end of last week. The cooling units were concealed behind a false wall in the flat, located in the city of Innsbruck.

Two individuals, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were arrested in the month of June. The elder brother, a work associate of the Syrian woman, stated to authorities last week that there had been an incident—but disputed murder.

Addressing reporters earlier, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office stated the two suspects were being held on "high likelihood of murder".

The identities of those involved have been withheld by authorities, in accordance with local legislation.

Their going missing was originally brought to light by the female victim's relative, who resides in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.

Authorities stated the woman's colleague claimed at the time she had embarked on an long journey with her daughter to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.

Her bank card was then discovered to be utilized in foreign locations on multiple occasions.

Yet when officers searched the woman's home, her mobile phone was discovered.

An individual also claimed listening to a disturbing sound in the dwelling, and cries of "mother" on the date the mother and child were thought to have disappeared.

A broader criminal probe was started, with officers uncovering various messages transmitted via the mother's device—among them a notice of quitting to her employer and communications to the male associate.

Law enforcement confirmed a significant cash transfer was also sent to the individual.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office stated to the press on Tuesday that a storage facility had been secured before the mother and child went missing and a cooling unit had been installed within.

The male siblings took out the cooling unit from the facility on the very day the mother and daughter went missing, Tersch stated. And a shortly afterward, they obtained another freezer.

Officials state they believe this points to the fatalities were premeditated.

"The reason for their demise remains unclear due to the state of decomposition of the victims," Tersch said.

The prosecutor's spokesman—from the legal authorities—noted the specific order of occurrences is still unclear, but the remains were professionally hidden and were not found during a earlier inspection.

Although the brothers were taken into custody in the summer, it was only on 12 November that the suspect acknowledged an incident and to storing the victims. He denies any intent to kill, investigators stated.

In a related development, his 53-year-old sibling admitted to a attempt to hide evidence but rejected awareness of a killing.

The brothers are presently in custody awaiting trial in prisons in Innsbruck and Salzburg, situated at a distance.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister declared the "alleged double murder... represents the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and reveals a heartless setup".

"Female individuals are falling victim to homicide due to the mere fact that they are of the female gender," they went on to say.

"Murders of women are a strongly established and society-wide problem that we must fight resolutely."