Brothel knife massacre leaves three women dead

Brothel knife massacre leaves three women dead

Three young women were found dead with fatal knife wounds in a brothel in Vienna on Friday night as authorities investigate five suspected murders in the Austrian capital within a single day.

Authorities are now investigating the shock deaths of the women found brutally stabbed to death last night just afters after a mother and her 13-year-old daughter were found dead in a separate case.

A 27-year-old man still carrying a knife that was believed to be the murder weapon was arrested nearby on suspicion of the brothel massacre in Brigittenau, police said Saturday.

No motive has been given for the killings with the suspect still being questioned, Austrian press agency APA reported.

It was not clear from early reports who the three women were, or why they were at the brothel.

In a separate case, a mother and her 13-year-old daughter had been found dead in a Vienna apartment earlier Friday.

They were possibly strangled or choked to death, with the father a prime suspect, APA said.

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Austria’s association of autonomous women’s shelters recorded 26 femicides last year and debate has raged in Austria and across Europe over the murder of women and girls, often at the hands of partners or ex-partners.

The Austrian government has vowed to crack down, pledging several measures including increased funding for organisations helping victims of violence.

But NGOs say the government is not doing enough to stop the murders.

Between 2010 and 2020, 319 women were killed in Austria, mostly by their male partners or ex-partners, with a record high of 43 victims in 2019, according to a government study.

In 2021, a 35-year-old mother of two died after being shot dead in a northern district of Vienna.

Police later arrested a 42-year-old man on suspicion of murder, believed to have killed the woman with a handgun.

The story, marking the ninth femicide that year, sparked outcry from activists calling for more to be done to prevent future fatalities.

Green Transport Minister Leonore Gewessler called for more action on the issue at a press conference.

Women’s Minister Susanne Raab said she was ‘profoundly saddened’ by the ‘shocking murder’.

Brothel knife massacre leaves three women dead