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The deceased of a 34-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter have been found inside freezers in an apartment in western Austria.

The victims, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were detected on Friday. The freezers were hidden behind a plasterboard wall in the dwelling, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

A pair of males, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were detained in the month of June. The elder brother, a work associate of the Syrian woman, told police last week that there had been an accident—but rejected murder.

Informing journalists previously, a spokesman for the state prosecutor stated the brothers were being held on "strong suspicion of homicide".

The names of those implicated have been withheld by police, in compliance with local legislation.

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

Police said the woman's colleague told them at the time she had embarked on an extended trip with her daughter to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.

The mother's debit card was then discovered to be utilized in foreign locations several times.

Yet when police searched the mother's apartment, her mobile phone was found.

A witness also stated hearing a disturbing sound in the flat, and shouts of "mum" on the day the two were believed to have vanished.

A wider criminal probe was launched, with officers discovering several texts originating from the woman's phone—such as a job termination message to her employer and communications to the male colleague.

Officials said a significant cash transfer was also moved to the individual.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office told reporters on recently that a storage unit had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a freezing appliance had been placed there.

The two suspects took out the cooling unit from the unit on the day the victims went missing, she stated. And a week later, they purchased an additional appliance.

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

"How they died remains unclear due to the state of decomposition of the victims," she said.

Mayr—of the public prosecutor's office—noted the exact sequence of events is not yet known, but the bodies were carefully placed and not discovered during a previous house search.

While the men were taken into custody in the summer, it was not until November 12 that the 55-year-old confessed to an event and to concealing the remains. He rejects any plan to cause death, officials said.

Meanwhile, his 53-year-old sibling admitted to a attempt to hide evidence but rejected involvement in a murder.

The two suspects are currently in custody awaiting trial in detention centers in two Austrian cities, situated at a distance.

In a joint statement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister said the "reported homicide of mother and child... represents the swift and cruel conclusion of two individuals and reveals a heartless setup".

"Female individuals are being killed due to the simple reality that they are female," they continued.

"Gender-based killings are a strongly established and widespread concern that we must address decisively."