Disturbing Discovery: Bodies of Vanished Mum and Daughter Located in Freezers in the Alpine Nation
The remains of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been discovered inside freezing appliances in an apartment in the western part of Austria.
The deceased, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been missing for a number of months, were detected on Friday. The freezers were hidden behind a drywall partition in the dwelling, located in the city of Innsbruck.
A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were detained in the month of June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the Syrian woman, informed police last week that there had been an accident—but disputed homicide.
Speaking to reporters recently, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office announced the pair were being held on "high likelihood of homicide".
The names of those concerned have not been released by police, in compliance with national regulations.
The family's disappearance was originally brought to light by the woman's cousin, who resides in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.
Police stated the woman's colleague told them at the time she had gone on an prolonged visit with her child to visit her parents in Turkey.
The mother's debit card was then discovered to be utilized abroad on multiple occasions.
Yet when investigators entered the victim's residence, her cellphone was found.
An individual also claimed listening to a disturbing sound in the apartment, and screams of "mama" on the occasion the two were believed to have vanished.
A broader criminal probe was initiated, with officers discovering several texts sent from the woman's phone—including a notice of quitting to her employer and messages to the male associate.
Authorities confirmed a significant cash transfer was also sent to the man.
Katja Tersch informed media representatives on recently that a storage facility had been leased before the mother and child went missing and a freezing appliance had been placed there.
The male siblings removed the cooling unit from the unit on the day the mother and daughter vanished, she stated. And a shortly afterward, they obtained an additional appliance.
Investigators say they believe this points to the fatalities were premeditated.
"The cause of death was not identifiable due to the advanced decay of the remains," she commented.
Mayr—from the legal authorities—said the precise timeline is not yet known, but the bodies were carefully placed and not discovered during a earlier inspection.
While the brothers were arrested in the summer, it was only on November 12 that the 55-year-old admitted to an event and to hiding the bodies. He rejects any plan to cause death, authorities said.
At the same time, his younger brother confessed to a cover-up but rejected knowledge of a killing.
The brothers are presently in detention before court proceedings in detention centers in two Austrian cities, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.
Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister declared the "suspected killing of two... represents the abrupt and violent termination of two individuals and uncovers a brutal scheme".
"Women and girls are being murdered due to the mere fact that they are women and girls," they went on to say.
"Femicides are a deeply rooted and issue affecting all of society that we must combat firmly."