Tragic Unearthing: Bodies of Vanished Mother and Child Located in Freezing Units in the Alpine Nation

The deceased of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been found inside freezing appliances in an flat in western Austria.

The victims, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been missing for a number of months, were uncovered on Friday. The cooling units were placed behind a drywall partition in the dwelling, situated in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in June. The older man, a colleague of the Syrian woman, informed authorities last week that there had been an accident—but disputed intentional killing.

Speaking to reporters previously, a spokesman for the state prosecutor announced the two suspects were being kept in custody on "strong suspicion of murder".

The identities of those involved have not been disclosed by law enforcement, in following national regulations.

The family's disappearance was initially flagged by the woman's cousin, who resides in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.

Authorities said the 55-year-old suspect told them at the time she had gone on an long journey with her child to travel to her relatives in the nation of Turkey.

The mother's debit card was then noted as being active overseas repeatedly.

Yet when police entered the woman's home, her smartphone was discovered.

An individual also reported listening to a disturbing sound in the dwelling, and cries of "mama" on the day the two were presumed to have gone missing.

A wider police investigation was launched, with authorities finding multiple communications originating from the woman's phone—such as a notice of quitting to her workplace and messages to the male associate.

Officials stated a four-figure sum was also sent to the man.

Katja Tersch informed media representatives on that day that a storage facility had been leased before the mother and child went missing and a freezing appliance had been installed within.

The male siblings extracted the freezer from the facility on the very day the woman and her child vanished, Tersch stated. And a week later, they obtained a second unit.

Authorities state they consider this points to the demise were premeditated.

"How they died remains unclear due to the state of decomposition of the bodies," the official said.

The prosecutor's spokesman—of the public prosecutor's office—noted the exact sequence of events is not yet known, but the bodies were carefully placed and were not found during a prior examination.

Although the suspects were arrested in June, it was not until November 12 that the elder brother admitted to an occurrence and to hiding the bodies. He rejects any intent to kill, investigators stated.

At the same time, his brother confessed to a concealment but disputed knowledge of a homicide.

The two suspects are at this time in detention before court proceedings in detention centers in Innsbruck and Salzburg, situated at a distance.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative declared the "suspected killing of two... symbolizes the abrupt and violent termination of a mother and child and uncovers a cruel system".

"Females of all ages are being killed due to the mere fact that they are of the female gender," they added.

"Murders of women are a strongly established and society-wide problem that we must fight resolutely."