🔗 Share this article

The bodies of a 34-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter have been found inside freezers in an apartment in the western part of Austria.

The victims, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were found on Friday. The cooling units were placed behind a drywall partition in the apartment, located in the Innsbruck area.

A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were detained in June. The elder brother, a colleague of the female victim, told authorities last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but disputed intentional killing.

Informing journalists previously, a official for the public prosecutor's office said the brothers were being held on "serious suspicion of intentional killing".

The names of those implicated have been withheld by authorities, in following local legislation.

Their going missing was first reported by the woman's cousin, who is based in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Investigators stated the male associate 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 found to have been used overseas repeatedly.

However when police searched the victim's residence, her smartphone was found.

Someone also stated hearing a disturbing sound in the dwelling, and screams of "mother" on the day the two were believed to have vanished.

A broader criminal probe was started, with investigators uncovering multiple communications originating from the woman's phone—such as a notice of quitting to her employer and communications to the 55-year-old suspect.

Authorities confirmed a significant cash transfer was also moved to the suspect.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office informed reporters on that day that a rented space had been secured before the victims' disappearance and a freezing appliance had been installed within.

The male siblings removed the cooling unit from the storage space on the day the victims vanished, the official stated. And a seven days after, they purchased a second unit.

Investigators believe they think this points to the demise were premeditated.

"The reason for their demise could not be determined due to the state of decomposition of the victims," the official said.

The prosecutor's spokesman—representing the state—noted the precise timeline is still unclear, but the victims were professionally hidden and not discovered during a previous house search.

Although the brothers were arrested in June, it was not until 12 November that the 55-year-old acknowledged an incident and to hiding the bodies. He denies any intent to kill, officials confirmed.

In a related development, his brother acknowledged a attempt to hide evidence but denied awareness of a homicide.

The two suspects are currently in detention before court proceedings in prisons in two Austrian cities, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and the top legal representative declared the "reported homicide of mother and child... constitutes the swift and cruel conclusion of two individuals and exposes a heartless setup".

"Female individuals are being murdered due to the sole reason that they are female," they added.

"Murders of women are a strongly established and issue affecting all of society that we must address decisively."