🔗 Share this article

The bodies of a 34-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter have been located inside freezing appliances in an residence in western Austria.

The victims, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were uncovered on Friday. The freezers were placed behind a false wall in the apartment, located in the Innsbruck area.

Two men, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were taken into custody in the month of June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the female victim, told police last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but disputed intentional killing.

Addressing journalists recently, a representative for the public prosecutor's office said the two suspects were being held on "strong suspicion of homicide".

The names of those involved have not been released by police, in accordance with local legislation.

The vanishing of the mother and child was originally brought to light by the cousin of the mother, who is based in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.

Police said the male associate told them at the time she had gone on an extended trip with her child to see her family in the nation of Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then noted as being active overseas repeatedly.

However when police entered the victim's residence, her cellphone was discovered.

A witness also stated hearing a commotion in the dwelling, and cries of "mother" on the date the mother and child were believed to have vanished.

A broader official inquiry was launched, with officers discovering various messages originating from the woman's phone—including a resignation letter to her workplace and texts to the male colleague.

Officials stated a amount in the thousands was also moved to the individual.

A senior police official informed reporters on recently that a storage unit had been rented out before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been installed within.

The male siblings took out the freezer from the unit on the day the victims went missing, she revealed. And a seven days after, they purchased another freezer.

Authorities believe they consider this suggests the demise were intentionally orchestrated.

"The reason for their demise was not identifiable due to the condition of the bodies," she commented.

A legal representative—representing the state—noted the exact sequence of events is yet to be determined, but the bodies were professionally hidden and not discovered during a prior examination.

While the brothers were taken into custody in June, it was not until the 12th of November that the elder brother admitted to an occurrence and to storing the victims. He disputes any murderous intent, officials said.

In a related development, his younger brother confessed to a cover-up but denied knowledge of a homicide.

The two suspects are at this time in detention before court proceedings in detention centers in two Austrian cities, situated at a distance.

Via a shared communication, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister stated the "reported homicide of mother and child... constitutes the sudden and brutal end of a mother and child and exposes a brutal scheme".

"Females of all ages are being murdered due to the sole reason that they are of the female gender," they continued.

"Femicides are a strongly established and issue affecting all of society that we must fight resolutely."