🔗 Share this article

The remains of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been located inside freezing appliances in an residence in western Austria.

The victims, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been missing for several months, were detected on the end of last week. The cooling units were hidden behind a false wall in the flat, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

Two individuals, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in June. The 55-year-old, a work associate of the female victim, informed law enforcement last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but rejected murder.

Informing reporters recently, a representative for the legal authorities announced the brothers were being held on "high likelihood of homicide".

The identities of those involved have not been disclosed by law enforcement, in following local legislation.

The family's disappearance was first reported by the woman's cousin, who is based in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.

Investigators said the 55-year-old suspect claimed at the time she had taken an extended trip with her daughter to travel to her relatives in Turkey.

Her bank card was then found to have been used overseas several times.

But when officers entered the mother's apartment, her cellphone was discovered.

A witness also claimed listening to a loud noise in the apartment, and screams of "mama" on the date the two were believed to have vanished.

An expanded official inquiry was launched, with investigators uncovering multiple communications sent from the mother's device—including a resignation letter to her company and texts to the 55-year-old suspect.

Authorities stated a significant cash transfer was also transferred to the suspect.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office informed reporters on recently that a rented space had been rented out before the mother and child went missing and a freezing appliance had been positioned inside.

The two suspects extracted the cooling unit from the unit on the day the woman and her child went missing, she said. And a week later, they purchased another freezer.

Authorities state they think this points to the demise were premeditated.

"The cause of death could not be determined due to the condition of the remains," she said.

Mayr—representing the state—noted the exact sequence of events is yet to be determined, but the remains were expertly concealed and were not found during a earlier inspection.

Although the men were arrested in the summer, it was only on 12 November that the 55-year-old acknowledged an incident and to storing the victims. He disputes any intent to kill, officials stated.

In a related development, his younger brother confessed to a concealment but denied knowledge of a murder.

The pair are at this time in custody awaiting trial in detention centers in separate locations, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and the top legal representative said the "alleged double murder... represents the abrupt and violent termination of a mother and child and reveals a brutal scheme".

"Females of all ages are being killed due to the mere fact that they are women and girls," they went on to say.

"Gender-based killings are a profoundly embedded and society-wide problem that we must combat firmly."