Disturbing Find: Bodies of Missing Mother and Child Located in Freezers in Austria

The deceased of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been located inside freezing appliances in an apartment in the western part of Austria.

The victims, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were uncovered on Friday. The freezers were hidden behind a drywall partition in the dwelling, located in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in the month of June. The older man, a work associate of the Syrian woman, told authorities last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but denied homicide.

Addressing reporters recently, a official for the legal authorities announced the pair were being held on "high likelihood of homicide".

The identities of those implicated have not been released by law enforcement, in accordance with Austrian law.

Their going missing was initially flagged by the female victim's relative, who is based in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.

Investigators stated the male associate told them at the time she had gone on an long journey with her child to see her family in Turkey.

Her bank card was then discovered to be utilized abroad several times.

Yet when police searched the victim's residence, her smartphone was discovered.

Someone also stated overhearing a commotion in the apartment, and shouts of "mum" on the day the pair were believed to have vanished.

A wider official inquiry was started, with authorities discovering various messages sent from the mother's device—such as a notice of quitting to her employer and communications to the 55-year-old suspect.

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

Katja Tersch informed the press on Tuesday that a storage unit had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been positioned inside.

The brothers removed the cooling unit from the storage space on the day the woman and her child disappeared, she said. And a shortly afterward, they acquired another freezer.

Investigators say they consider this indicates the deaths were premeditated.

"The reason for their demise remains unclear due to the condition of the remains," Tersch said.

Mayr—representing the state—noted the precise timeline is not yet known, but the victims were expertly concealed and not discovered during a earlier inspection.

While the suspects were arrested in the summer, it was only on the 12th of November that the suspect acknowledged an occurrence and to storing the victims. He rejects any murderous intent, investigators confirmed.

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

The brothers are currently in detention before court proceedings in prisons in Innsbruck and Salzburg, situated at a distance.

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

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

"Murders of women are a deeply rooted and issue affecting all of society that we must address decisively."