Disturbing Discovery: Remains of Missing Mother and Child Located in Freezing Units in Austria
The deceased of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been discovered inside freezing appliances in an apartment in the western part of Austria.
The victims, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been missing for several months, were uncovered on Friday. The freezers were hidden behind a drywall partition in the dwelling, located in the city of Innsbruck.
A pair of males, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were arrested in June. The elder brother, a work associate of the female victim, informed police last week that there had been an accident—but denied intentional killing.
Addressing reporters previously, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office announced the brothers were being kept in custody on "high likelihood of homicide".
The names of those implicated have not been released by law enforcement, in compliance with local legislation.
Their going missing was initially flagged by the cousin of the mother, who lives in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.
Investigators stated the male associate told them at the time she had gone on an long journey with her child to see her family in Turkey.
Her bank card was then found to have been used overseas on multiple occasions.
However when officers examined the woman's home, her cellphone was found.
Someone also reported overhearing a loud noise in the apartment, and screams of "mama" on the date the two were believed to have vanished.
A wider police investigation was started, with officers finding multiple communications transmitted via the victim's mobile—such as a resignation letter to her employer and communications to the male associate.
Law enforcement said a four-figure sum was also transferred to the suspect.
The head of the State Criminal Police Office stated to the press on recently that a storage facility had been secured before the mother and child went missing and a cooling unit had been installed within.
The male siblings took out the cooling unit from the facility on the date the mother and daughter went missing, Tersch stated. And a seven days after, they obtained a second unit.
Authorities state they believe this suggests the deaths were intentionally orchestrated.
"How they died could not be determined due to the condition of the victims," she said.
A legal representative—from the legal authorities—noted the exact sequence of events is not yet known, but the victims were expertly concealed and went unnoticed during a prior examination.
While the brothers were detained in June, it was not until 12 November that the suspect admitted to an event and to storing the victims. He denies any intent to kill, officials stated.
In a related development, his younger brother admitted to a attempt to hide evidence but disputed involvement in a killing.
The brothers are at this time in detention before court proceedings in prisons in separate locations, situated at a distance.
Via a shared communication, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister said the "alleged double murder... symbolizes the swift and cruel conclusion of two human lives and uncovers a cruel system".
"Female individuals are being killed due to the mere fact that they are women and girls," they went on to say.
"Femicides are a profoundly embedded and issue affecting all of society that we must fight resolutely."