They have been missing for more than a year. The bodies of a 34-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter were found this Friday in the refrigerator of a man living in Innsbruck (Austria), sixteen months after their disappearance, reported the daily Kurier this Tuesday, November 18.
Both victims, Syrian nationals, were likely killed before their bodies were hidden in a freezer. They have shown no signs of life since July 2024. Two Austrian men are suspected of being the masterminds of this crime, a case considered a double murder by the police and prosecutor’s office in the Tyrolean city.
The corpse is hidden behind a partition
The suspected brothers were arrested in June and initially denied the facts, despite being placed in pre-trial detention. However, the eldest, 55 years old, admitted during interrogation this Wednesday, November 12. He mentioned the accident and admitted to investigators that the bodies of the two missing women were hidden in his 53-year-old brother’s apartment. They are hidden in the freezer behind a plasterboard partition.
The main suspect in the case, her older brother was the victim’s partner and one of the last people to see her alive along with her daughter. He actually picked them up on July 20, 2024 in Düsseldorf (Germany) by car, after they visited his relatives. The following day, the 34-year-old woman made a final phone call to one of her family members, before not answering again. A cousin finally reported him missing on July 25, as did his daughter.
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Two freezers were purchased by the suspect
During a search, the police found their two cellphones in the locked house. A witness reported to investigators that he heard loud noises coming from inside the apartment, as well as the sound of a little girl screaming “Mama” several times. When questioned, the 55-year-old man then explained that he thought they had planned a long trip to Türkiye, but none of the relatives of the two missing women knew about these plans.
Therefore, he quickly attracted the interest of the team responsible for investigating their sudden disappearance, especially when they learned that he had acquired the refrigerator shortly before the incident. The device was first briefly stored in a storage unit rented by the two brothers, before being first moved around July 20, then returned to the location several days later. A second freezer was then purchased.
The brothers made the purchase with the victim’s card
Without a body, the investigation stalled for several months, although there were many clues: the 53-year-old suspect traveled between Salzburg and Slovenia at the end of July 2024, during which he used the victim’s bank card. Several messages were sent from his cell phone, including a resignation letter to his employer and bank statements. There were no text messages written in Arabic, even though the woman’s mother tongue was lost.
The older brother is also suspected of selling gold jewelry belonging to his former partner via an online platform, as well as furniture from his apartment. He finally received a transfer from his victim’s account which he claimed was “payment” of the debt.
The cause of death is still unknown
During a press conference this Tuesday, prosecutor’s spokesman Hansjörg Mayr indicated that “the bodies of a Syrian woman and her daughter were found in an apartment in Innsbruck on November 14.” The two men are officially suspected of murder by prosecutors and are currently in pre-trial custody in Innsbruck and Salzburg prisons, Der Standard details.
The cause of death cannot be determined for now “due to the advanced state of decomposition” of the body, said Katja Tersch, head of the Tyrolean criminal police. The body, which had been preserved for a long time, was damaged after the electricity supply to the apartment was cut off, following the detention of its occupants. The prosecution at this stage supports the hypothesis of a double murder, and not an accident, added Hansjörg Mayr.
