The remains of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been discovered inside freezers in an apartment in the western part of Austria.
The deceased, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were detected on Friday. The freezers were concealed behind a plasterboard wall in the flat, located in the Innsbruck area.
Two men, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were detained in June. The older man, a colleague of the Syrian woman, told authorities last week that there had been an accident—but denied murder.
Speaking to the media earlier, a official for the state prosecutor stated the brothers were being detained on "serious suspicion of murder".
Personal details of those involved have not been disclosed by authorities, in following local legislation.
Their going missing was initially flagged by the female victim's relative, who is based in Germany, on 25 July 2024.
Investigators said the woman's colleague informed them at the time she had gone on an prolonged visit with her daughter to see her family in the nation of Turkey.
The victim's bank card was then found to have been used in foreign locations several times.
However when officers examined the victim's residence, her cellphone was found.
Someone also claimed listening to a disturbing sound in the flat, and screams of "mum" on the date the two were presumed to have gone missing.
An expanded criminal probe was started, with investigators uncovering multiple communications transmitted via the woman's phone—among them a job termination message to her company and texts to the 55-year-old suspect.
Officials said a four-figure sum was also sent to the individual.
The head of the State Criminal Police Office told reporters on Tuesday that a storage facility had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a freezing appliance had been placed there.
The brothers removed the freezer from the unit on the very day the victims went missing, she stated. And a shortly afterward, they purchased an additional appliance.
Authorities believe they consider this indicates the fatalities were premeditated.
"How they died could not be determined due to the state of decomposition of the bodies," she commented.
Mayr—representing the state—said the precise timeline is not yet known, but the victims were expertly concealed and were not found during a prior examination.
Although the suspects were arrested in the summer, it was not until the 12th of November that the 55-year-old confessed to an occurrence and to concealing the remains. He disputes any murderous intent, investigators stated.
Meanwhile, his younger brother acknowledged a concealment but disputed involvement in a murder.
The pair are presently in custody awaiting trial in jails in separate locations, situated at a distance.
Via a shared communication, the nation's official for women's affairs and the top legal representative declared the "suspected killing of two... symbolizes the sudden and brutal end of a mother and child and reveals a heartless setup".
"Females of all ages are falling victim to homicide due to the simple reality that they are of the female gender," they continued.
"Femicides are a profoundly embedded and widespread concern that we must fight resolutely."
