Disturbing Discovery: Bodies of Vanished Mother and Child Located in Freezers in Austria
The remains of a 34-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter have been located inside freezing appliances in an flat in western Austria.
The victims, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were detected on Friday. The cooling units were hidden behind a plasterboard wall in the dwelling, located in the city of Innsbruck.
Two individuals, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were arrested in the month of June. The elder brother, a colleague of the female victim, informed police last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but disputed intentional killing.
Speaking to reporters recently, a spokesman for the legal authorities announced the two suspects were being kept in custody on "strong suspicion of intentional killing".
The names of those implicated have not been disclosed by law enforcement, in compliance with Austrian law.
The vanishing of the mother and child was first reported by the woman's cousin, who is based in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.
Authorities stated the male associate informed them at the time she had taken an long journey with her child to travel to her relatives in Turkey.
The victim's bank card was then discovered to be utilized in foreign locations repeatedly.
Yet when police entered the mother's apartment, her smartphone was discovered.
A witness also claimed hearing a disturbing sound in the flat, and cries of "mum" on the date the mother and child were thought to have disappeared.
An expanded police investigation was started, with officers finding several texts sent from the victim's mobile—including a job termination message to her employer and communications to the male colleague.
Officials confirmed a four-figure sum was also moved to the individual.
Katja Tersch informed the press on that day that a rented space had been secured before the mother and child went missing and a cooling unit had been installed within.
The brothers removed the freezer from the unit on the very day the mother and daughter disappeared, the official stated. And a shortly afterward, they acquired a second unit.
Officials say they consider this indicates the demise were premeditated.
"The cause of death remains unclear due to the condition of the remains," she stated.
Mayr—representing the state—stated the exact sequence of events is still unclear, but the bodies were carefully placed and went unnoticed during a prior examination.
While the brothers were arrested in June, it was not until November 12 that the elder brother acknowledged an event and to hiding the bodies. He disputes any murderous intent, officials stated.
At the same time, his brother acknowledged a concealment but rejected awareness of a homicide.
The brothers are currently in pre-trial detention in jails in two Austrian cities, around 117 miles (189km) apart.
Via a shared communication, the nation's official for women's affairs and the top legal representative declared the "suspected killing of two... constitutes the abrupt and violent termination of a mother and child and reveals a brutal scheme".
"Women and girls are being killed due to the mere fact that they are female," they went on to say.
"Femicides are a profoundly embedded and issue affecting all of society that we must combat firmly."