Shocking Unearthing: Remains of Missing Mother and Child Found in Freezers in the Alpine Nation
The deceased of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been located inside freezers in an flat in the western part of Austria.
The victims, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been missing for several months, were detected on Friday. The freezers were concealed behind a plasterboard wall in the apartment, located in the city of Innsbruck.
Two individuals, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in June. The 55-year-old, a work associate of the Syrian woman, informed law enforcement last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but rejected intentional killing.
Addressing journalists recently, a official for the public prosecutor's office said the brothers were being detained on "high likelihood of murder".
Personal details of those involved have been withheld by police, in compliance with national regulations.
Their going missing was originally brought to light by the cousin of the mother, who lives in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.
Investigators stated the woman's colleague informed them at the time she had taken an prolonged visit with her daughter to see her family in the nation of Turkey.
The victim's bank card was then discovered to be utilized in foreign locations on multiple occasions.
But when officers entered the woman's home, her smartphone was discovered.
Someone also claimed hearing a disturbing sound in the apartment, and cries of "mum" on the day the pair were presumed to have gone missing.
A wider criminal probe was launched, with officers finding various messages sent from the mother's device—including a resignation letter to her workplace and communications to the 55-year-old suspect.
Authorities said a four-figure sum was also sent to the man.
The head of the State Criminal Police Office informed reporters on recently that a storage unit had been rented out before the victims' disappearance and a freezing appliance had been placed there.
The male siblings took out the appliance from the storage space on the day the victims disappeared, Tersch said. And a shortly afterward, they acquired an additional appliance.
Authorities believe they consider this suggests the demise were premeditated.
"The reason for their demise remains unclear due to the state of decomposition of the victims," the official said.
Mayr—from the legal authorities—said the exact sequence of events is yet to be determined, but the bodies were professionally hidden and were not found during a earlier inspection.
Although the suspects were taken into custody in the summer, it was not until the 12th of November that the elder brother confessed to an incident and to concealing the remains. He denies any plan to cause death, officials stated.
Meanwhile, his 53-year-old sibling admitted to a concealment but denied awareness of a killing.
The pair are at this time in detention before court proceedings in jails in two Austrian cities, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.
Via a shared communication, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative said the "alleged double murder... represents the sudden and brutal end of a mother and child and uncovers a heartless setup".
"Women and girls are falling victim to homicide due to the simple reality that they are female," they continued.
"Femicides are a strongly established and issue affecting all of society that we must combat firmly."