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The deceased of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been discovered inside freezers in an apartment in western Austria.

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were detected on Friday. The cooling units were hidden behind a plasterboard wall in the dwelling, located in the Innsbruck area.

A pair of males, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the Syrian woman, informed police last week that there had been an accident—but denied homicide.

Informing journalists earlier, a representative for the state prosecutor said the pair were being kept in custody on "serious suspicion of homicide".

Personal details of those implicated have not been disclosed by authorities, in following Austrian law.

The family's disappearance was initially flagged by the woman's cousin, who lives in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Investigators said the male associate told them at the time she had gone on an prolonged visit with her daughter to travel to her relatives in Turkey.

Her bank card was then discovered to be utilized abroad several times.

However when officers examined the victim's residence, her mobile phone was found.

An individual also reported hearing a disturbing sound in the apartment, and cries of "mum" on the date the mother and child were thought to have disappeared.

A wider official inquiry was launched, with officers uncovering various messages transmitted via the victim's mobile—among them a resignation letter to her employer and messages to the male colleague.

Officials confirmed a four-figure sum was also sent to the suspect.

A senior police official stated to reporters on Tuesday that a storage facility had been rented out before the mother and child went missing and a freezer had been placed there.

The male siblings removed the appliance from the unit on the day the woman and her child disappeared, the official stated. And a seven days after, they acquired an additional appliance.

Investigators believe they consider this points to the demise were planned in advance.

"How they died remains unclear due to the state of decomposition of the remains," Tersch commented.

The prosecutor's spokesman—of the public prosecutor's office—stated the precise timeline is not yet known, but the victims were carefully placed and not discovered during a previous house search.

While the suspects were detained in the summer, it was not until the 12th of November that the elder brother admitted to an occurrence and to concealing the remains. He denies any murderous intent, investigators said.

At the same time, his 53-year-old sibling acknowledged a concealment but rejected awareness of a homicide.

The brothers are currently in pre-trial detention in detention centers in two Austrian cities, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

Via a shared communication, the nation's official for women's affairs and the top legal representative declared the "reported homicide of mother and child... symbolizes the swift and cruel conclusion of two human lives and uncovers a heartless setup".

"Female individuals are falling victim to homicide due to the mere fact that they are women and girls," they added.

"Murders of women are a strongly established and society-wide problem that we must address decisively."