The bodies of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been found inside freezers in an flat in the western part of Austria.
The victims, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been missing for several months, were found on the end of last week. The freezers were placed behind a plasterboard wall in the dwelling, situated in the Innsbruck area.
A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were taken into custody in June. The older man, a work associate of the female victim, stated to authorities last week that there had been an incident—but disputed murder.
Informing reporters previously, a official for the state prosecutor stated the two suspects were being held on "high likelihood of intentional killing".
Personal details of those implicated have been withheld by law enforcement, in accordance with Austrian law.
Their going missing was initially flagged by the female victim's relative, who resides in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.
Authorities stated the woman's colleague claimed at the time she had gone on an prolonged visit with her child to see her family in Turkey.
Her bank card was then found to have been used overseas several times.
But when police entered the mother's apartment, her smartphone was located.
An individual also claimed hearing a commotion in the flat, and screams of "mother" on the occasion the mother and child were believed to have vanished.
A broader police investigation was started, with authorities discovering multiple communications sent from the mother's device—such as a notice of quitting to her company and texts to the male associate.
Authorities confirmed a significant cash transfer was also moved to the man.
The head of the State Criminal Police Office stated to media representatives on recently that a storage facility had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a cooling unit had been installed within.
The male siblings took out the cooling unit from the storage space on the day the mother and daughter went missing, the official said. And a seven days after, they acquired another freezer.
Authorities believe they think this suggests the deaths were intentionally orchestrated.
"How they died remains unclear due to the condition of the victims," she said.
The prosecutor's spokesman—representing the state—noted the precise timeline is still unclear, but the victims were expertly concealed and not discovered during a earlier inspection.
While the men were taken into custody in June, it was not until November 12 that the 55-year-old acknowledged an incident and to storing the victims. He disputes any murderous intent, officials confirmed.
At the same time, his younger brother confessed to a attempt to hide evidence but rejected involvement in a killing.
The two suspects are currently in detention before court proceedings in jails in separate locations, situated at a distance.
In a joint statement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister declared the "alleged double murder... represents the abrupt and violent termination of a mother and child and uncovers a brutal scheme".
"Women and girls are being killed due to the sole reason that they are women and girls," they went on to say.
"Murders of women are a strongly established and society-wide problem that we must fight resolutely."
Elara is a financial strategist with over a decade of experience in wealth management and entrepreneurship.
