The remains of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been located inside freezers in an apartment in the western part of Austria.
The victims, 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 false wall in the flat, situated in the city of Innsbruck.
A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in the month of June. The elder brother, a work associate of the female victim, told authorities last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but denied murder.
Speaking to reporters recently, a official for the state prosecutor said the pair were being detained on "strong suspicion of homicide".
The identities of those implicated have not been disclosed by law enforcement, in following local legislation.
The vanishing of the mother and child was originally brought to light by the woman's cousin, who lives in Germany, on 25 July 2024.
Investigators stated the male associate claimed at the time she had embarked on an extended trip with her child to see her family in Turkey.
The victim's bank card was then discovered to be utilized overseas repeatedly.
But when investigators examined the mother's apartment, her cellphone was found.
Someone also claimed listening to a disturbing sound in the apartment, and screams of "mum" on the occasion the two were presumed to have gone missing.
A wider police investigation was initiated, with investigators finding several texts sent from the mother's device—among them a notice of quitting to her company and communications to the male colleague.
Authorities said a amount in the thousands was also sent to the individual.
The head of the State Criminal Police Office informed the press on recently that a rented space had been rented out before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been installed within.
The brothers removed the appliance from the storage space on the very day the mother and daughter went missing, the official revealed. And a week later, they acquired another freezer.
Investigators believe they think this points to the deaths were intentionally orchestrated.
"How they died could not be determined due to the condition of the bodies," she stated.
Mayr—of the public prosecutor's office—stated the specific order of occurrences is still unclear, but the bodies were expertly concealed and went unnoticed during a earlier inspection.
While the men were taken into custody in June, it was not until 12 November that the 55-year-old admitted to an event and to storing the victims. He disputes any murderous intent, authorities confirmed.
Meanwhile, his brother admitted to a attempt to hide evidence but rejected knowledge of a killing.
The two suspects are presently in custody awaiting trial in detention centers in two Austrian cities, situated at a distance.
Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and the top legal representative said the "alleged double murder... constitutes the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and exposes a heartless setup".
"Women and girls are being murdered due to the sole reason that they are of the female gender," they continued.
"Murders of women are a profoundly embedded and issue affecting all of society that we must address decisively."
