Tragic Discovery: Bodies of Missing Mum and Daughter Located in Freezing Units in the Alpine Nation

The remains of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been found inside freezing appliances in an apartment in western Austria.

The victims, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been missing for a number of months, were uncovered on Friday. The freezers were placed behind a drywall partition in the flat, situated in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were detained in June. The elder brother, a work associate of the Syrian woman, informed law enforcement last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but denied intentional killing.

Addressing journalists recently, a official for the public prosecutor's office said the pair were being kept in custody on "high likelihood of murder".

The identities of those involved have not been disclosed by authorities, in following Austrian law.

The vanishing of the mother and child was originally brought to light by the cousin of the mother, who lives in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Police revealed the 55-year-old suspect claimed at the time she had gone on an prolonged visit with her daughter to travel to her relatives in Turkey.

Her bank card was then noted as being active in foreign locations on multiple occasions.

Yet when police entered the mother's apartment, her mobile phone was located.

An individual also stated overhearing a disturbing sound in the apartment, and screams of "mama" on the day the mother and child were thought to have disappeared.

A broader criminal probe was launched, with authorities finding various messages originating from the woman's phone—such as a notice of quitting to her employer and communications to the male associate.

Authorities said a significant cash transfer was also moved to the man.

A senior police official told reporters on recently that a storage unit had been rented out before the mother and child went missing and a freezer had been positioned inside.

The brothers took out the freezer from the unit on the day the victims disappeared, Tersch said. And a seven days after, they acquired a second unit.

Investigators state they believe this points to the fatalities were premeditated.

"How they died remains unclear due to the advanced decay of the bodies," she said.

The prosecutor's spokesman—representing the state—stated the specific order of occurrences is not yet known, but the victims were expertly concealed and went unnoticed during a earlier inspection.

Although the brothers were detained in June, it was only on 12 November that the 55-year-old acknowledged an incident and to storing the victims. He disputes any plan to cause death, officials said.

At the same time, his younger brother acknowledged a cover-up but denied awareness of a killing.

The two suspects are currently in pre-trial detention in jails in Innsbruck and Salzburg, situated at a distance.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative declared the "suspected killing of two... symbolizes the swift and cruel conclusion of two human lives and reveals a brutal scheme".

"Females of all ages are being murdered due to the sole reason that they are female," they added.

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