Tragic Find: Bodies of Vanished Mother and Child Located in Freezers in Austria
The bodies of a 34-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter have been found inside freezing appliances in an apartment in western Austria.
The victims, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were detected on Friday. The freezers were placed behind a false wall in the apartment, located in the Innsbruck area.
Two men, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were detained in June. The older man, a colleague of the Syrian woman, informed police last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but disputed homicide.
Speaking to the media earlier, a official for the public prosecutor's office announced the pair were being held on "strong suspicion of intentional killing".
The names of those concerned have not been released by law enforcement, in accordance with local legislation.
Their going missing was originally brought to light by the female victim's relative, who resides in Germany, on 25 July 2024.
Investigators revealed the woman's colleague told them at the time she had embarked on an prolonged visit with her daughter to travel to her relatives in Turkey.
The mother's debit card was then discovered to be utilized abroad several times.
Yet when officers entered the mother's apartment, her mobile phone was found.
Someone also reported listening to a disturbing sound in the apartment, and shouts of "mum" on the day the pair were presumed to have gone missing.
A broader criminal probe was launched, with authorities uncovering multiple communications transmitted via the victim's mobile—among them a resignation letter to her workplace and texts to the male associate.
Authorities said a significant cash transfer was also sent to the man.
A senior police official stated to the press on that day that a storage unit had been rented out before the mother and child went missing and a freezer had been placed there.
The male siblings extracted the appliance from the unit on the date the victims went missing, she stated. And a seven days after, they obtained an additional appliance.
Authorities believe they believe this indicates the fatalities were premeditated.
"The reason for their demise remains unclear due to the state of decomposition of the victims," the official said.
A legal representative—representing the state—stated the specific order of occurrences is yet to be determined, but the remains were expertly concealed and not discovered during a prior examination.
While the men were detained in the summer, it was only on November 12 that the suspect acknowledged an incident and to concealing the remains. He disputes any intent to kill, authorities stated.
In a related development, his younger brother admitted to a concealment but disputed awareness of a killing.
The pair are currently in detention before court proceedings in prisons in two Austrian cities, situated at a distance.
In a joint statement, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative stated the "suspected killing of two... represents the swift and cruel conclusion of two human lives and reveals a cruel system".
"Women and girls are being murdered due to the simple reality that they are female," they went on to say.
"Murders of women are a profoundly embedded and widespread concern that we must fight resolutely."
