Horrifying details

Mother and daughter murdered? Pair of brothers targeted

From left: Hansjörg Mayr, spokesman for the Innsbruck public prosecutor's office, provincial police director Helmut Tomac and Katja Tersch, head of the Tyrol State Criminal Police Office, shortly before the press conference.(Bild: Rojsek-Wiedergut Uta, Christof Birbaumer)

Double murder alert in Innsbruck: the bodies of a 34-year-old woman and her daughter (10), who had been missing for over a year, were found in an apartment. Two suspects - a pair of brothers - had already been arrested. They are in custody. On Tuesday, the police revealed gruesome details about the criminal case.

The Tyrolean State Office of Criminal Investigation, under the direction of the Innsbruck public prosecutor's office, has been investigating two suspected homicides for several months, the Tyrolean police said on Tuesday morning. Two arrests had already been made in June.

The men are suspected of being connected to the death of a 34-year-old Syrian woman and her ten-year-old daughter, both of whom have been missing from Innsbruck since July 2024.

Die Polizei

Two brothers as suspects
According to the investigators, the suspects are two Austrians - brothers aged 53 and 55. "The men are suspected of being connected to the death of a 34-year-old Syrian woman and her ten-year-old daughter, both of whom have been missing from Innsbruck since July 2024," the statement continued.

Bodies only discovered on Friday
However, there was initially no trace of the bodies. Until last Friday: "As a result of intensive investigations, the bodies of the Syrian woman and her daughter were found in an apartment in Innsbruck on 14 November," said the executive. The two suspects are in custody in Innsbruck and Salzburg prisons. 

From left: Hansjörg Mayr, spokesman for the public prosecutor's office in Innsbruck, provincial police director Helmut Tomac and Katja Tersch, head of the Tyrolean Criminal Police Office, shortly before the press conference.(Bild: Rojsek-Wiedergut Uta, Christof Birbaumer)

Grisly details at press conference 
The police then held a press conference on Tuesday morning. "We have a special case to report on today", said provincial police director Helmut Tomac at the beginning, "we started our investigation based on a telephone report that a relative - specifically the cousin who lives in Germany - of the female murder victim had gone missing".

She was considered to be "very reliable" in her circle of relatives and friends. "Her work colleague stated that the woman and her daughter were going on a long trip and that she had quit her job," explained Tomac.

This work colleague was the 55-year-old Austrian - apparently there was also a private relationship between him and the woman, which was described as "difficult". Over time, the suspicion that the woman and her daughter were victims of a violent crime was confirmed. 

They purchased two freezers and then moved them to a storage room.

Katja Tersch, Leiterin LKA Tirol

Bild: Christof Birbaumer

Numerous intensive investigations - both at home and abroad - were the result. The accused - the 55-year-old work colleague - first admitted to an accident in November of this year. "He also stated that the bodies were in a freezer in an apartment," emphasized the state police director. 

Witness reported "mummy calls"
Katja Tersch, head of the Tyrolean State Office of Criminal Investigation, then took the floor: "The apartment was locked and initially gave no indication of where the mother and daughter were. But a witness finally stated that he had heard 'mummy shouting'."

The main defendant was the only one who "knew" - i.e. claimed - that the mother and daughter were traveling to Turkey to visit relatives. "The cell phone that was left in the apartment in this case was also looked at. As of July 21, 2024, no more calls were made from this phone. Only messages were sent from the victim's account - for example, a letter of termination was sent. And no more messages were written in the victim's native language, Arabic," Tersch revealed.

The accused's brother was also targeted by the investigators. "Over the months, the two went to great lengths to conceal their actions. For example, they bought two freezers - one of them even before the disappearance - and put them in a storage room. But they canceled this contract shortly afterwards", says Tersch, "after more than 16 months, the whereabouts of the mother and daughter could be clarified".

The bodies in the freezers were very well hidden - behind a specially erected plasterboard wall. The bodies were also refrigerated until August.

StA-Sprecher Hansjörg Mayr

Bild: Christof Birbaumer

"A murder without corpses is always difficult"
Hansjörg Mayr, spokesman for the public prosecutor's office in Innsbruck, also sat on the podium. "Murder without bodies, as in this case, is always particularly difficult for the investigators. There is also the question of when a crime is suspected," said Mayr. Relatives have reported the mother and daughter missing. "The police have carried out an initial search of the woman's and daughter's home. An initial picture showed that it didn't look like anyone had left the apartment to go on vacation," the spokesperson explained.

As a result, the missing persons' cell phones were recovered from the apartment. The account data was evaluated and many other investigations were carried out.

Mayr, Tomac and Tersch at the press conference on Tuesday.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

"The bodies in the freezers were very well hidden in the apartment of the brother of the main accused - behind a specially erected plasterboard wall. The bodies were also refrigerated until August. Then came the arrest and the electricity was cut off," Mayr explains, "the accused have not confessed to the murder charge. The main suspect only revealed "where the bodies are" during his interrogation.

"Cause of death is still unclear"
According to Mayr, the investigation has reached an important point, but is not yet complete. "It has not yet been possible to clarify how the murder may have occurred. It is also not yet possible to say anything concrete about a possible motive. The mortal remains are in an advanced state of decomposition, which is of course a challenge for further investigations. The cause of death is still unclear," emphasized Mayr.