Tragic Find: Bodies of Vanished Mother and Child Located in Freezers in Austria

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

The deceased, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were found on the end of last week. The cooling units were placed behind a false wall in the flat, situated in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were taken into custody in June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the Syrian woman, told law enforcement last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but disputed intentional killing.

Addressing journalists earlier, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office announced the two suspects were being kept in custody on "serious suspicion of homicide".

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

Their going missing was first reported by the cousin of the mother, who is based 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 long journey with her child to visit her parents in Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then found to have been used overseas repeatedly.

However when officers examined the mother's apartment, her cellphone was found.

A witness also reported listening to a commotion in the dwelling, and shouts of "mama" on the day the two were believed to have vanished.

An expanded police investigation was started, with investigators discovering various messages originating from the mother's device—including a job termination message to her workplace and messages to the male associate.

Law enforcement confirmed a four-figure sum was also sent to the suspect.

Katja Tersch stated to the press on that day that a storage facility had been rented out before the mother and child went missing and a freezing appliance had been positioned inside.

The two suspects extracted the cooling unit from the unit on the very day the woman and her child went missing, Tersch stated. And a shortly afterward, they obtained a second unit.

Authorities believe they believe this suggests the demise were premeditated.

"The cause of death was not identifiable due to the advanced decay of the bodies," Tersch commented.

A legal representative—from the legal authorities—said the specific order of occurrences is still unclear, but the victims were professionally hidden and were not found during a previous house search.

Although the suspects were arrested in June, it was only on the 12th of November that the 55-year-old acknowledged an event and to storing the victims. He rejects any murderous intent, officials said.

In a related development, his 53-year-old sibling acknowledged a cover-up but rejected knowledge of a homicide.

The brothers are presently in custody awaiting trial in jails in Innsbruck and Salzburg, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

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

"Female individuals are being murdered due to the mere fact that they are female," they continued.

"Femicides are a deeply rooted and issue affecting all of society that we must combat firmly."