Shocking Unearthing: Remains of Missing Mother and Child Found in Freezing Units in Austria

The remains of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been discovered inside freezers in an residence in western Austria.

The deceased, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been missing for several months, were uncovered on Friday. The freezers were placed behind a plasterboard wall in the flat, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

Two men, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in the month of June. The older man, a work associate of the female victim, informed law enforcement last week that there had been an incident—but denied homicide.

Speaking to the media recently, a representative for the public prosecutor's office said the two suspects were being kept in custody on "strong suspicion of intentional killing".

Personal details of those implicated have not been disclosed by law enforcement, in accordance with local legislation.

The vanishing of the mother and child was originally brought to light by the female victim's relative, who resides in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.

Investigators revealed the 55-year-old suspect told them at the time she had taken an extended trip with her child to visit her parents in Turkey.

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

But when police searched the mother's apartment, her cellphone was located.

An individual also stated hearing a loud noise in the apartment, and cries of "mother" on the date the mother and child were thought to have disappeared.

A wider criminal probe was initiated, with authorities uncovering multiple communications sent from the mother's device—including a resignation letter to her company and messages to the male colleague.

Authorities said a significant cash transfer was also sent to the suspect.

A senior police official stated to the press on recently that a rented space had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been installed within.

The male siblings took out the appliance from the facility on the date the mother and daughter vanished, she said. And a seven days after, they acquired another freezer.

Investigators say they think this suggests the fatalities were intentionally orchestrated.

"The cause of death remains unclear due to the state of decomposition of the bodies," she stated.

The prosecutor's spokesman—representing the state—stated the exact sequence of events is not yet known, but the bodies were professionally hidden and were not found during a prior examination.

Although the suspects were arrested in June, it was only on November 12 that the 55-year-old admitted to an incident and to storing the victims. He rejects any plan to cause death, officials said.

In a related development, his brother confessed to a cover-up but denied knowledge of a murder.

The brothers are at this time in detention before court proceedings in prisons in separate locations, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

In a joint statement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister stated the "reported homicide of mother and child... symbolizes the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and reveals a brutal scheme".

"Females of all ages are being killed due to the simple reality that they are female," they went on to say.

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