Tragic Discovery: Remains of Vanished Mum and Daughter Found in Freezers in Austria
The deceased of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been located inside freezing appliances in an residence in the western part of Austria.
The victims, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were found on Friday. The cooling units were concealed behind a drywall partition in the flat, located in the Innsbruck area.
Two individuals, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were taken into custody in June. The older man, a colleague of the Syrian woman, stated to authorities last week that there had been an incident—but rejected murder.
Addressing the media previously, a representative for the state prosecutor announced the brothers were being detained on "strong suspicion of murder".
The names of those concerned have been withheld by law enforcement, in following Austrian law.
Their going missing was initially flagged by the woman's cousin, who lives in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.
Police revealed the 55-year-old suspect told them at the time she had taken an extended trip with her child to see her family in the nation of Turkey.
Her bank card was then discovered to be utilized in foreign locations repeatedly.
However when investigators searched the victim's residence, her smartphone was discovered.
A witness also stated hearing a commotion in the flat, and shouts of "mum" on the date the mother and child were presumed to have gone missing.
A broader police investigation was initiated, with officers finding multiple communications originating from the woman's phone—such as a resignation letter to her employer and communications to the male associate.
Officials stated a amount in the thousands was also sent to the suspect.
The head of the State Criminal Police Office told reporters on recently that a storage facility had been secured before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been positioned inside.
The brothers took out the cooling unit from the storage space on the day the victims went missing, the official revealed. And a seven days after, they acquired an additional appliance.
Officials state they think this indicates the demise were planned in advance.
"How they died remains unclear due to the state of decomposition of the remains," she said.
The prosecutor's spokesman—representing the state—stated the precise timeline is not yet known, but the remains were carefully placed and were not found during a previous house search.
Although the suspects were arrested in the summer, it was not until November 12 that the 55-year-old confessed to an incident and to concealing the remains. He rejects any plan to cause death, officials stated.
In a related development, his younger brother confessed to a attempt to hide evidence but denied knowledge of a homicide.
The pair are currently in custody awaiting trial in jails in separate locations, around 117 miles (189km) apart.
In a joint statement, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative said the "suspected killing of two... represents the abrupt and violent termination of two individuals and reveals a cruel system".
"Female individuals are falling victim to homicide due to the simple reality that they are of the female gender," they went on to say.
"Femicides are a deeply rooted and society-wide problem that we must address decisively."