Tragic Unearthing: Remains of Vanished Mother and Child Located in Freezing Units in Austria

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

The victims, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were uncovered on the end of last week. The freezers were concealed behind a drywall partition in the flat, located in the Innsbruck area.

Two men, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were detained in the month of June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the female victim, told law enforcement last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but rejected intentional killing.

Speaking to the media earlier, a representative for the public prosecutor's office said the pair were being kept in custody on "high likelihood of intentional killing".

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

Their going missing was originally brought to light by the woman's cousin, who is based in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.

Investigators revealed the woman's colleague informed them at the time she had embarked on an long journey with her daughter to travel to her relatives in Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then noted as being active in foreign locations repeatedly.

Yet when investigators examined the woman's home, her mobile phone was discovered.

Someone also reported listening to a commotion in the flat, and screams of "mother" on the date the mother and child were presumed to have gone missing.

An expanded official inquiry was initiated, with investigators uncovering various messages sent from the woman's phone—such as a notice of quitting to her company and texts to the male associate.

Law enforcement said a four-figure sum was also moved to the individual.

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Katja Tersch told reporters on recently that a storage unit had been rented out before the mother and child went missing and a freezing appliance had been installed within.

The male siblings took out the appliance from the facility on the very day the mother and daughter went missing, Tersch said. And a shortly afterward, they purchased an additional appliance.

Authorities believe they consider this indicates the deaths were premeditated.

"The reason for their demise remains unclear due to the state of decomposition of the remains," she said.

The prosecutor's spokesman—from the legal authorities—stated the exact sequence of events is still unclear, but the bodies were professionally hidden and not discovered during a earlier inspection.

Although the brothers were detained in June, it was not until 12 November that the 55-year-old confessed to an event and to hiding the bodies. He denies any plan to cause death, investigators confirmed.

Meanwhile, his younger brother confessed to a concealment but disputed awareness of a murder.

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

Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister declared the "alleged double murder... symbolizes the swift and cruel conclusion of two individuals and reveals a brutal scheme".

"Females of all ages are being killed due to the mere fact that they are women and girls," they went on to say.

"Gender-based killings are a deeply rooted and issue affecting all of society that we must fight resolutely."

Amy Goodman
Amy Goodman

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