Disturbing Unearthing: Remains of Missing Mum and Daughter Located in Freezing Units in Austria

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The remains of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been found inside freezers in an residence in the western part of Austria.

The victims, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were detected on the end of last week. The cooling units were concealed 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 the month of June. The elder brother, a colleague of the female victim, told law enforcement last week that there had been an incident—but rejected homicide.

Speaking to journalists earlier, a representative for the legal authorities announced the two suspects were being detained on "strong suspicion of murder".

Personal details of those implicated have not been released by police, in compliance with national regulations.

The family's disappearance was originally brought to light by the female victim's relative, who lives in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.

Police said the 55-year-old suspect claimed at the time she had embarked on an extended trip with her daughter to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.

The mother's debit card was then discovered to be utilized overseas on multiple occasions.

But when investigators searched the woman's home, her mobile phone was located.

A witness also stated hearing a commotion in the flat, and shouts of "mama" on the date the two were thought to have disappeared.

A wider criminal probe was initiated, with investigators finding multiple communications transmitted via the mother's device—including a job termination message to her company and texts to the 55-year-old suspect.

Officials stated a four-figure sum was also moved to the man.

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Katja Tersch informed reporters on Tuesday that a storage unit had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a freezing appliance had been installed within.

The male siblings extracted the cooling unit from the unit on the very day the mother and daughter disappeared, Tersch revealed. And a week later, they acquired a second unit.

Investigators say they consider this points to the deaths were intentionally orchestrated.

"The reason for their demise was not identifiable due to the state of decomposition of the remains," she said.

A legal representative—representing the state—stated the precise timeline is still unclear, but the victims were expertly concealed and went unnoticed during a previous house search.

Although the men were detained in the summer, it was not until the 12th of November that the 55-year-old admitted to an incident and to hiding the bodies. He rejects any murderous intent, authorities confirmed.

In a related development, his younger brother acknowledged a cover-up but rejected knowledge of a killing.

The pair are at this time in pre-trial detention in jails in two Austrian cities, situated at a distance.

In a joint statement, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative stated the "suspected killing of two... symbolizes the sudden and brutal end of two human lives and reveals a heartless setup".

"Female individuals are being murdered due to the sole reason that they are women and girls," they added.

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

Wanda Coleman
Wanda Coleman

A digital artist and graphic designer passionate about creating accessible vector resources for the creative community.