Shocking Unearthing: Remains 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 located inside freezers in an apartment in the western part of Austria.

The deceased, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been missing for several months, were found on the end of last week. The cooling units were concealed behind a drywall partition in the apartment, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

Two men, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were arrested in the month of June. The older man, a work associate of the Syrian woman, told police last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but denied murder.

Informing the media previously, a spokesman for the legal authorities said the two suspects were being detained on "strong suspicion of homicide".

The names of those involved have not been disclosed by law enforcement, in compliance with local legislation.

The family's disappearance was originally brought to light by the female victim's relative, who lives in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Police revealed the male associate informed them at the time she had gone on an prolonged visit with her child to travel to her relatives in Turkey.

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

Yet when police entered the woman's home, her smartphone was found.

Someone also reported hearing a disturbing sound in the dwelling, and shouts of "mama" on the occasion the two were thought to have disappeared.

A wider police investigation was launched, with officers uncovering multiple communications sent from the mother's device—including a resignation letter to her workplace and messages to the male associate.

Officials stated a significant cash transfer was also moved to the man.

Katja Tersch stated to media representatives on Tuesday that a storage unit had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a freezing appliance had been installed within.

The brothers extracted the freezer from the storage space on the day the woman and her child disappeared, she revealed. And a week later, they purchased another freezer.

Officials say they consider this indicates the demise were planned in advance.

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

Mayr—representing the state—said the specific order of occurrences is not yet known, but the bodies were professionally hidden and were not found during a previous house search.

Although the brothers were arrested in June, it was not until November 12 that the suspect acknowledged an occurrence and to hiding the bodies. He rejects any intent to kill, investigators confirmed.

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

The brothers are presently in pre-trial detention in jails in separate locations, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

In a joint statement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister said the "alleged double murder... represents the sudden and brutal end of two individuals and exposes a cruel system".

"Women and girls are being murdered due to the sole reason that they are female," they added.

"Femicides are a profoundly embedded and issue affecting all of society that we must address decisively."