The remains 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 daughter, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were found on Friday. The cooling units were hidden behind a plasterboard wall in the apartment, situated in the Innsbruck area.
Two men, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were arrested in June. The elder brother, a colleague of the female victim, told police last week that there had been an accident—but rejected homicide.
Addressing journalists previously, a spokesman for the state prosecutor stated the pair were being kept in custody on "serious suspicion of murder".
The identities of those concerned have not been released by law enforcement, in accordance with national regulations.
The vanishing of the mother and child was first reported by the female victim's relative, who is based in Germany, on 25 July 2024.
Police said the woman's colleague told them at the time she had gone on an extended trip with her daughter to see her family in the nation of Turkey.
Her bank card was then found to have been used in foreign locations repeatedly.
But when officers entered the mother's apartment, her mobile phone was found.
An individual also reported listening to a disturbing sound in the flat, and cries of "mama" on the occasion the two were thought to have disappeared.
An expanded official inquiry was started, with officers finding various messages originating from the mother's device—including a notice of quitting to her employer and communications to the 55-year-old suspect.
Law enforcement said a significant cash transfer was also transferred to the individual.
Katja Tersch told reporters on recently that a rented space had been rented out before the victims' disappearance and a freezing appliance had been placed there.
The brothers extracted the freezer from the storage space on the day the victims vanished, Tersch stated. And a shortly afterward, they acquired a second unit.
Investigators state they believe this indicates the deaths were planned in advance.
"The cause of death remains unclear due to the state of decomposition of the remains," Tersch said.
Mayr—representing the state—stated the specific order of occurrences is not yet known, but the remains were expertly concealed and not discovered during a prior examination.
While the men were taken into custody in June, it was not until November 12 that the suspect confessed to an occurrence and to hiding the bodies. He denies any murderous intent, authorities said.
Meanwhile, his 53-year-old sibling acknowledged a concealment but denied awareness of a killing.
The two suspects are currently in custody awaiting trial in detention centers in two Austrian cities, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.
Via a shared communication, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister stated the "suspected killing of two... symbolizes the abrupt and violent termination of two individuals and exposes a cruel system".
"Female individuals are falling victim to homicide due to the simple reality that they are female," they added.
"Gender-based killings are a deeply rooted and issue affecting all of society that we must fight resolutely."
