Austria: The bodies of a Syrian mother and her daughter were found and two suspects were arrested Miscellaneous

The Austrian police announced that two bodies of a 34-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter were found inside their apartment, in a tragic incident that caused widespread shock in the country, while investigations are still ongoing to determine the circumstances and motives of the crime.

In detail, the remains, which belong to a family of Syrian origin, were found hidden behind a drywall in the city of Innsbruck, according to BBC reports.

Two men, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in June. The older man, a colleague of the Syrian woman, reported the incident to police last week, but denied committing murder.

Mother and 10-year-old daughter found dead in freezer a year and a half after disappearing in Austria
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The two men are currently being held “on strong suspicion of committing murder,” Hansgeorg Meyer, spokesman for the Public Prosecution Office, said in a previous statement to reporters. The police did not reveal their identities in compliance with Austrian law.

The woman’s cousin, who resides in Germany, first reported her disappearance on July 25, 2024. According to what the police announced, her 55-year-old colleague told them at the time that she had left on a long trip with her daughter to visit her parents in Türkiye.

It was later found that her bank card had been used several times abroad, but a police search of her home revealed the presence of her mobile phone inside the apartment, which raised further doubts about the circumstances of her disappearance.

An eyewitness also reported hearing loud noises in the apartment, and screaming “Mama,” on the day they are believed to have disappeared.

Police launched a wider investigation, with officers discovering various messages sent from the woman’s phone, including a resignation letter to her employer and messages to her colleague.

Authorities reported that a four-figure sum was also transferred to one of the two arrested men. Katja Tersch, head of the Criminal Police Office in Tyrol, revealed to reporters that the brothers had rented a storage unit before the two victims disappeared, and placed a freezer inside it.

Tersch added that the brothers removed the freezer from the unit on the same day the woman and her child disappeared. After just one week, they brought another freezer to the place.

The authorities believe that these movements indicate that the deaths may have been planned and planned. Tersch explained, “It was not possible to determine the cause of death due to the severe state of decomposition of the bodies.”