The bodies of a 34-year-old woman and her daughter, 10, have been found inside freezers in an apartment in western Austria. The remains of the Syrian woman and child, missing for several months, were discovered on Friday. The freezers were hidden behind a drywall partition in the flat, located in the city of Innsbruck.
Two men, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in June. The older man, a colleague of the Syrian woman, told police last week there had been an accident - but denied murder.
Speaking to reporters earlier, Hansjörg Mayr, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office, said the pair were being held on strong suspicion of murder. The names of those involved have not been released by police, in accordance with Austrian law.
The family's disappearance was first reported by the woman's cousin, who lives in Germany, on 25 July 2024. Police said the woman's colleague - the 55-year-old man - told them at the time she had gone on an extended trip with her child to visit her parents in Turkey. Her bank card was then found to have been used abroad several times.
However, when police searched the woman's home, her mobile phone was found. A witness also reported hearing a loud noise in the apartment, and cries of mama, on the day the two were thought to have disappeared. A wider police investigation was launched, with officers discovering various messages sent from the woman's phone - including a resignation letter to her employer and messages to the male colleague. Authorities stated a four-figure sum was also transferred to the man.
Katja Tersch, head of the State Criminal Police Office in Tyrol, told reporters on Tuesday that a storage unit had been rented out before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been placed there. The brothers removed the freezer from the unit on the day the woman and her child disappeared, and a week later, they acquired another freezer. Authorities suspect these actions indicate premeditated murder, although the cause of death could not be determined due to the state of decomposition of the bodies.
Mayr mentioned that the exact sequence of events remains unclear, noting that the bodies were professionally hidden and eluded discovery during a previous house search. While both brothers were arrested in June, it was not until 12 November that the 55-year-old admitted to an incident and to hiding the bodies, denying any intent to kill. His younger brother admitted to a cover-up but denied knowledge of a homicide.
The pair are currently in pre-trial detention in prisons in Innsbruck and Salzburg, approximately 117 miles apart. In a joint statement, Austria's Minister for Women Eva-Maria Holzleitner and Justice Minister Anna Sporrer condemned the incident as a clear case of femicide, stating that it underscores the violence faced by women and girls.
Femicides are a deeply rooted and society-wide problem that we must fight resolutely, they asserted.
Two men, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in June. The older man, a colleague of the Syrian woman, told police last week there had been an accident - but denied murder.
Speaking to reporters earlier, Hansjörg Mayr, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office, said the pair were being held on strong suspicion of murder. The names of those involved have not been released by police, in accordance with Austrian law.
The family's disappearance was first reported by the woman's cousin, who lives in Germany, on 25 July 2024. Police said the woman's colleague - the 55-year-old man - told them at the time she had gone on an extended trip with her child to visit her parents in Turkey. Her bank card was then found to have been used abroad several times.
However, when police searched the woman's home, her mobile phone was found. A witness also reported hearing a loud noise in the apartment, and cries of mama, on the day the two were thought to have disappeared. A wider police investigation was launched, with officers discovering various messages sent from the woman's phone - including a resignation letter to her employer and messages to the male colleague. Authorities stated a four-figure sum was also transferred to the man.
Katja Tersch, head of the State Criminal Police Office in Tyrol, told reporters on Tuesday that a storage unit had been rented out before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been placed there. The brothers removed the freezer from the unit on the day the woman and her child disappeared, and a week later, they acquired another freezer. Authorities suspect these actions indicate premeditated murder, although the cause of death could not be determined due to the state of decomposition of the bodies.
Mayr mentioned that the exact sequence of events remains unclear, noting that the bodies were professionally hidden and eluded discovery during a previous house search. While both brothers were arrested in June, it was not until 12 November that the 55-year-old admitted to an incident and to hiding the bodies, denying any intent to kill. His younger brother admitted to a cover-up but denied knowledge of a homicide.
The pair are currently in pre-trial detention in prisons in Innsbruck and Salzburg, approximately 117 miles apart. In a joint statement, Austria's Minister for Women Eva-Maria Holzleitner and Justice Minister Anna Sporrer condemned the incident as a clear case of femicide, stating that it underscores the violence faced by women and girls.
Femicides are a deeply rooted and society-wide problem that we must fight resolutely, they asserted.
