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Man entombed wife's head in concrete before using it to drown himself

A man strangled and dismembered his wife, entombed her head in concrete and then used the concrete block as a weight to drown himself in an Austrian lake, authorities said on Tuesday.

Police official Gottfried Mitterlehner said the couple were a 72-year old man and his 71-year old wife from Germany but did not further identify them.

Austrian police divers retrieve a bag from the Traunsee in Gmunden, Austria on 04 January 2016. EPA/THOMAS LEITNER/AAP
Austrian police divers retrieve a bag from the Traunsee in Gmunden, Austria on 04 January 2016. EPA/THOMAS LEITNER/AAP

Officials told reporters the head was found in a block of concrete in a bag attached to the man's hand. The other hand was also weighed down.

The corpse and the bag were recovered by police divers from the waters of Traunsee Monday.

Austrian police carry a bag that was retrieved by police divers from the Traunsee in Gmunden, Austria on 04 January 2016. EPA/THOMAS LEITNER/AAP
Austrian police carry a bag that was retrieved by police divers from the Traunsee in Gmunden, Austria on 04 January 2016. EPA/THOMAS LEITNER/AAP

A day earlier, two suitcases containing the woman's remains were found floating close to the lake's shore near the town of Gmunden, around 80 kilometers east of Salzburg.

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