🔗 Share this article

The remains of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been found inside freezing appliances in an residence in western Austria.

The deceased, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were uncovered on the end of last week. The freezers were hidden behind a false wall in the flat, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

Two men, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were taken into custody in June. The older man, a colleague of the Syrian woman, stated to law enforcement last week that there had been an accident—but denied murder.

Informing reporters earlier, a spokesman for the legal authorities stated the brothers were being kept in custody on "high likelihood of homicide".

The identities of those implicated have not been disclosed by police, in accordance with local legislation.

The vanishing of the mother and child was first reported by the cousin of the mother, who lives in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.

Police stated the male associate told them at the time she had embarked on an long journey with her daughter to travel to her relatives in Turkey.

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

But when investigators examined the woman's home, her smartphone was discovered.

A witness also reported overhearing a disturbing sound in the flat, and shouts of "mum" on the date the two were presumed to have gone missing.

A wider criminal probe was started, with authorities discovering several texts sent from the mother's device—such as a notice of quitting to her employer and messages to the male colleague.

Officials stated a amount in the thousands was also moved to the individual.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office told reporters on that day that a storage facility had been rented out before the vanishing and a freezing appliance had been positioned inside.

The brothers removed the appliance from the facility on the very day the victims vanished, the official stated. And a week later, they acquired an additional appliance.

Investigators state they think this suggests the deaths were premeditated.

"The cause of death remains unclear due to the condition of the remains," Tersch stated.

The prosecutor's spokesman—representing the state—noted the exact sequence of events is not yet known, but the victims were carefully placed and went unnoticed during a previous house search.

While the suspects were arrested in the summer, it was only on the 12th of November that the 55-year-old admitted to an event and to concealing the remains. He disputes any murderous intent, authorities stated.

At the same time, his brother acknowledged a cover-up but disputed involvement in a murder.

The pair are presently in detention before court proceedings in jails in Innsbruck and Salzburg, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

In a joint statement, the nation's official for women's affairs and the top legal representative said the "suspected killing of two... constitutes the sudden and brutal end of a mother and child and uncovers a cruel system".

"Women and girls are being killed due to the simple reality that they are women and girls," they added.

"Femicides are a profoundly embedded and widespread concern that we must combat firmly."