Syrian mother and daughter found in freezers in Innsbruck, two men charged with murder
The bodies of a Syrian woman, 34, and her 10-year-old daughter were found hidden in freezers behind a drywall partition in an Innsbruck flat. Two Austrian brothers face murder charges.
Bodies of Syrian mother and child discovered concealed in Innsbruck apartment
The remains of a 34-year-old Syrian woman and her 10-year-old daughter have been found inside freezers in a flat in Innsbruck, western Austria, bbc.co.uk reports. The two had been missing for several months before police uncovered the bodies, which were hidden behind a drywall partition within the property.
Two brothers — a 55-year-old Austrian man and his 53-year-old sibling — were arrested in June. The older man, described as a colleague of the Syrian woman, told police last week that "there had been an accident" but denied any intent to kill. Hansjörg Mayr, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office, said the pair were being held on "strong suspicion of murder".
The family's disappearance was first flagged by the woman's cousin, based in Germany, on 25 July 2024. At the time, the 55-year-old colleague told officers she had left on an extended trip with her daughter to visit relatives in Turkey. Her bank card was subsequently used abroad on several occasions, lending apparent credibility to that account.
When investigators searched the woman's home, however, they found her mobile phone still inside the flat. A witness also reported hearing a loud noise from the apartment and cries of "mama" on the day the pair were believed to have vanished. A wider investigation was launched, during which police uncovered messages sent from the woman's phone — among them a resignation letter to her employer and exchanges with the male colleague. Authorities confirmed that a four-figure sum had also been 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 disappeared and a freezer placed there in advance. The brothers removed that freezer from the unit on the same day the woman and her child were last seen alive. A week later, they acquired a second freezer. Authorities said this sequence of events suggested the killings were premeditated.
"The cause of death could not be determined due to the state of decomposition of the bodies," Tersch said.
Mayr noted that the exact sequence of events remains unclear, adding that the bodies had been "professionally hidden" and were not found during an earlier search of the property. Although the brothers were detained in June, it was not until 12 November that the older man admitted to an incident and to concealing the remains. He continues to deny any intent to kill. His younger brother acknowledged involvement in a cover-up but denied knowledge of a homicide. The names of those involved have not been released, in line with Austrian law.
Both men are currently in pre-trial detention — in prisons in Innsbruck and Salzburg, approximately 117 miles (189 km) apart.
In a joint statement, Austria's Minister for Women Eva-Maria Holzleitner and Justice Minister Anna Sporrer described the "alleged double murder" as representing "the sudden and brutal end of two human lives" that "exposes a cruel system". The ministers added: "Women and girls are being murdered due to the mere fact that they are women and girls. Femicides are a deeply rooted and society-wide problem that we must fight resolutely."
Source: The Sun