Shocking Unearthing: Bodies of Vanished Mother and Child Located in Freezers in the Alpine Nation
The bodies of a 34-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter have been found inside freezers in an residence in western Austria.
The deceased, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were found on the end of last week. The cooling units were placed behind a plasterboard wall in the apartment, situated in the city of Innsbruck.
A pair of males, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in the month of June. The 55-year-old, a work associate of the female victim, stated to authorities last week that there had been an unfortunate eventābut disputed homicide.
Informing the media earlier, a representative for the state prosecutor said the pair were being detained on "strong suspicion of intentional killing".
Personal details of those implicated have not been disclosed by authorities, in compliance with Austrian law.
The family's disappearance was initially flagged by the woman's cousin, who lives in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.
Investigators stated the 55-year-old suspect claimed 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 found to have been used abroad several times.
However when officers examined the mother's apartment, her mobile phone was discovered.
Someone also stated overhearing a commotion in the apartment, and screams of "mum" on the day the mother and child were presumed to have gone missing.
A broader official inquiry was initiated, with officers discovering several texts originating from the mother's deviceāamong them a notice of quitting to her company and texts to the male colleague.
Authorities stated a four-figure sum was also sent to the suspect.
Katja Tersch told media representatives on recently that a storage unit had been rented out before the mother and child went missing and a freezer had been installed within.
The male siblings extracted the freezer from the facility on the very day the victims vanished, the official said. And a week later, they purchased another freezer.
Officials state they consider this indicates the demise were premeditated.
"How they died was not identifiable due to the state of decomposition of the remains," she said.
The prosecutor's spokesmanāof the public prosecutor's officeāsaid the exact sequence of events is still unclear, but the remains were expertly concealed and went unnoticed during a previous house search.
Although the brothers were arrested in June, it was not until November 12 that the 55-year-old admitted to an event and to concealing the remains. He rejects any intent to kill, officials confirmed.
At the same time, his younger brother confessed to a attempt to hide evidence but disputed awareness of a homicide.
The pair are currently in custody awaiting trial in jails in Innsbruck and Salzburg, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.
In a joint statement, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative stated the "suspected killing of two... constitutes the abrupt and violent termination of two individuals and exposes a cruel system".
"Women and girls are falling victim to homicide due to the mere fact that they are women and girls," they went on to say.
"Gender-based killings are a deeply rooted and widespread concern that we must combat firmly."