Shocking Unearthing: Bodies of Vanished Mother and Child Found in Freezing Units in Austria
The deceased of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been located inside freezing appliances in an flat in western Austria.
The victims, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been missing for several months, were uncovered on the end of last week. The cooling units were placed behind a plasterboard wall in the dwelling, located in the Innsbruck area.
Two individuals, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were detained in June. The elder brother, a work associate of the Syrian woman, told law enforcement last week that there had been an incident—but denied intentional killing.
Addressing journalists previously, a representative for the state prosecutor stated the brothers were being kept in custody on "high likelihood of homicide".
The identities of those implicated have not been released by law enforcement, in compliance with national regulations.
The vanishing of the mother and child was initially flagged by the woman's cousin, who is based in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.
Authorities said the 55-year-old suspect informed them at the time she had gone on an long journey with her daughter to see her family in Turkey.
The victim's bank card was then discovered to be utilized overseas several times.
However when officers examined the victim's residence, her smartphone was located.
An individual also reported overhearing a loud noise in the apartment, and screams of "mum" on the occasion the mother and child were thought to have disappeared.
A wider police investigation was launched, with officers finding multiple communications sent from the woman's phone—among them a job termination message to her employer and communications to the 55-year-old suspect.
Law enforcement said a amount in the thousands was also transferred to the individual.
Katja Tersch told the press on recently that a rented space had been leased before the vanishing and a cooling unit had been positioned inside.
The two suspects took out the cooling unit from the facility on the day the woman and her child vanished, she revealed. And a shortly afterward, they acquired another freezer.
Investigators say they think this suggests the deaths were premeditated.
"The reason for their demise remains unclear due to the advanced decay of the bodies," Tersch said.
The prosecutor's spokesman—from the legal authorities—said the precise timeline is not yet known, but the remains were expertly concealed and not discovered during a prior examination.
While the suspects were arrested in the summer, it was not until November 12 that the suspect acknowledged an occurrence and to concealing the remains. He rejects any murderous intent, investigators confirmed.
In a related development, his 53-year-old sibling admitted to a concealment but rejected awareness of a killing.
The brothers are currently in pre-trial detention in jails in Innsbruck and Salzburg, situated at a distance.
Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister said the "alleged double murder... constitutes the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and exposes a cruel system".
"Women and girls are falling victim to homicide due to the mere fact that they are of the female gender," they added.
"Murders of women are a profoundly embedded and society-wide problem that we must fight resolutely."