🔗 Share this article

The remains of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been discovered inside freezers in an flat in western Austria.

The deceased, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been missing for a number of months, were found on the end of last week. The freezers were concealed behind a false wall in the apartment, located in the Innsbruck area.

A pair of males, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were taken into custody in the month of June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the Syrian woman, stated to police last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but rejected homicide.

Speaking to journalists previously, a official for the state prosecutor announced the pair were being detained on "serious suspicion of homicide".

The identities of those involved have not been disclosed by police, in following Austrian law.

The family's disappearance was initially flagged by the female victim's relative, who lives in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.

Police stated the woman's colleague told them at the time she had embarked on an extended trip with her child to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.

Her bank card was then discovered to be utilized abroad on multiple occasions.

Yet when investigators searched the victim's residence, her smartphone was located.

Someone also reported hearing a loud noise in the apartment, and shouts of "mama" on the occasion the pair were believed to have vanished.

An expanded criminal probe was initiated, with authorities discovering multiple communications sent from the woman's phone—including a resignation letter to her company and communications to the 55-year-old suspect.

Officials said a significant cash transfer was also transferred to the suspect.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office told the press on that day that a storage unit had been secured before the vanishing and a cooling unit had been installed within.

The male siblings took out the cooling unit from the storage space on the very day the victims disappeared, Tersch revealed. And a week later, they obtained another freezer.

Authorities say they consider this indicates the deaths were planned in advance.

"The cause of death was not identifiable due to the condition of the victims," the official stated.

A legal representative—representing the state—said the exact sequence of events is still unclear, but the bodies were expertly concealed and not discovered during a prior examination.

While the brothers were taken into custody in June, it was only on the 12th of November that the elder brother acknowledged an incident and to storing the victims. He denies any intent to kill, authorities said.

Meanwhile, his younger brother confessed to a concealment but rejected involvement in a homicide.

The two suspects are presently in pre-trial detention in jails in Innsbruck and Salzburg, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister said the "alleged double murder... symbolizes the abrupt and violent termination of two individuals and uncovers a heartless setup".

"Females of all ages are being killed due to the mere fact that they are of the female gender," they continued.

"Gender-based killings are a deeply rooted and widespread concern that we must address decisively."