The bodies of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been found inside freezing appliances in an residence in western Austria.
The deceased, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were detected on Friday. The cooling units were placed behind a drywall partition in the dwelling, situated in the city of Innsbruck.
Two men, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were taken into custody in June. The 55-year-old, a work associate of the female victim, stated to authorities last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but rejected intentional killing.
Speaking to journalists earlier, a official for the legal authorities stated the brothers were being detained on "high likelihood of homicide".
The names of those involved have been withheld by authorities, in accordance with national regulations.
The family's disappearance was initially flagged by the cousin of the mother, who is based in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.
Investigators stated the male associate claimed at the time she had taken an prolonged visit with her child to travel to her relatives in the nation of Turkey.
The victim's bank card was then discovered to be utilized overseas on multiple occasions.
Yet when police searched the mother's apartment, her mobile phone was located.
A witness also claimed overhearing a loud noise in the apartment, and cries of "mama" on the occasion the two were thought to have disappeared.
A wider official inquiry was launched, with authorities uncovering various messages transmitted via the victim's mobile—such as a job termination message to her workplace and communications to the male colleague.
Authorities stated a four-figure sum was also sent to the suspect.
A senior police official stated to the press on that day that a storage unit had been secured before the mother and child went missing and a cooling unit had been positioned inside.
The male siblings took out the freezer from the storage space on the very day the woman and her child went missing, she said. And a week later, they obtained an additional appliance.
Investigators believe they think this suggests the demise were planned in advance.
"How they died was not identifiable due to the condition of the bodies," she stated.
A legal representative—from the legal authorities—said the specific order of occurrences is yet to be determined, but the victims were carefully placed and went unnoticed during a previous house search.
While the brothers were arrested in June, it was only on November 12 that the 55-year-old confessed to an occurrence and to hiding the bodies. He denies any murderous intent, investigators confirmed.
Meanwhile, his 53-year-old sibling confessed to a attempt to hide evidence but disputed knowledge of a murder.
The two suspects are at this time in pre-trial detention in prisons in separate locations, situated at a distance.
Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative said the "alleged double murder... represents the abrupt and violent termination of two human lives and uncovers a brutal scheme".
"Females of all ages are falling victim to homicide due to the sole reason that they are women and girls," they went on to say.
"Gender-based killings are a strongly established and society-wide problem that we must address decisively."
