Tragic Find: Remains of Vanished Mum and Daughter Found in Freezers in Austria

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The bodies of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been found inside freezers in an flat in western Austria.

The deceased, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were detected on Friday. The cooling units were hidden behind a false wall in the dwelling, located in the Innsbruck area.

Two men, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were detained 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.

Informing the media earlier, a representative for the state prosecutor announced the brothers were being held on "serious suspicion of homicide".

Personal details of those involved have not been released by authorities, in following Austrian law.

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 revealed the woman's colleague told them at the time she had embarked on an long journey with her child to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.

Her bank card was then found to have been used overseas several times.

But when officers entered the woman's home, her cellphone was located.

An individual also claimed hearing a commotion in the apartment, and shouts of "mum" on the date the pair were presumed to have gone missing.

A wider criminal probe was initiated, with officers finding various messages originating from the woman's phone—among them a resignation letter to her workplace and texts to the male associate.

Law enforcement confirmed a significant cash transfer was also sent to the man.

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Katja Tersch informed the press on that day that a storage facility had been rented out before the vanishing and a cooling unit had been positioned inside.

The male siblings removed the appliance from the storage space on the date the mother and daughter vanished, Tersch revealed. And a seven days after, they acquired an additional appliance.

Officials say they believe this suggests the demise were planned in advance.

"How they died could not be determined due to the advanced decay of the remains," Tersch said.

The prosecutor's spokesman—representing the state—noted the exact sequence of events is yet to be determined, but the victims were carefully placed and went unnoticed during a prior examination.

While the suspects were detained in June, it was not until November 12 that the suspect acknowledged an occurrence and to concealing the remains. He disputes any plan to cause death, officials said.

In a related development, his 53-year-old sibling acknowledged a concealment but disputed knowledge of a murder.

The brothers are at this time in custody awaiting trial in prisons in Innsbruck and Salzburg, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and the top legal representative stated the "suspected killing of two... represents the swift and cruel conclusion of two human lives and reveals a brutal scheme".

"Women and girls are falling victim to homicide due to the sole reason that they are women and girls," they continued.

"Murders of women are a strongly established and widespread concern that we must fight resolutely."

Erica Rice
Erica Rice

Consumer insights expert with over a decade of experience in product testing and market analysis, dedicated to helping shoppers find the best value.