🔗 Share this article

The bodies of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been discovered inside freezers in an flat in the western part of Austria.

The victims, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been missing for several months, were detected on the end of last week. The freezers were concealed behind a false wall in the flat, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

Two men, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were detained in June. The older man, a work associate of the Syrian woman, informed police last week that there had been an incident—but rejected homicide.

Informing reporters previously, a spokesman for the state prosecutor said the brothers were being detained on "serious suspicion of homicide".

The names of those concerned have not been disclosed by police, in following Austrian law.

Their going missing was originally brought to light by the woman's cousin, who is based in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Police revealed the woman's colleague claimed at the time she had embarked on an extended trip with her child to travel to her relatives in the nation of Turkey.

Her bank card was then noted as being active abroad on multiple occasions.

However when officers searched the woman's home, her mobile phone was found.

An individual also reported listening to a commotion in the apartment, and cries of "mama" on the date the two were believed to have vanished.

A wider police investigation was initiated, with authorities discovering several texts sent from the woman's phone—such as a notice of quitting to her workplace and texts to the 55-year-old suspect.

Law enforcement stated a four-figure sum was also transferred to the individual.

Katja Tersch stated to media representatives on that day that a storage facility had been rented out before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been placed there.

The two suspects took out the cooling unit from the storage space on the very day the woman and her child disappeared, the official revealed. And a seven days after, they acquired a second unit.

Officials say they think this points to the fatalities were intentionally orchestrated.

"The cause of death remains unclear due to the advanced decay of the victims," the official said.

Mayr—representing the state—said the precise timeline is not yet known, but the bodies were carefully placed and were not found during a prior examination.

While the suspects were detained in the summer, it was not until the 12th of November that the suspect confessed to an occurrence and to concealing the remains. He disputes any murderous intent, officials said.

Meanwhile, his younger brother admitted to a cover-up but disputed involvement in a homicide.

The brothers are presently in detention before court proceedings in jails in separate locations, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and the top legal representative said the "reported homicide of mother and child... represents the sudden and brutal end of two human lives and exposes a heartless setup".

"Female individuals are falling victim to homicide due to the mere fact that they are female," they continued.

"Murders of women are a strongly established and issue affecting all of society that we must address decisively."