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

The deceased, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were uncovered on the end of last week. The cooling units were placed behind a false wall in the flat, located in the city of Innsbruck.

A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in June. The older man, a work associate of the female victim, informed law enforcement last week that there had been an incident—but rejected homicide.

Addressing journalists previously, a official for the legal authorities announced the two suspects were being detained on "high likelihood of murder".

Personal details of those implicated have not been released by police, in compliance with Austrian law.

The family's disappearance was first reported by the female victim's relative, who resides in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Police said the 55-year-old suspect told them at the time she had gone on an extended trip with her daughter to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then found to have been used in foreign locations several times.

But when police entered the woman's home, her smartphone was located.

Someone also reported overhearing a commotion in the flat, and cries of "mum" on the day the pair were thought to have disappeared.

A broader police investigation was initiated, with investigators uncovering multiple communications transmitted via the victim's mobile—such as a notice of quitting to her workplace and communications to the male colleague.

Law enforcement stated a amount in the thousands was also transferred to the man.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office told reporters on recently that a storage unit had been leased before the vanishing and a freezing appliance had been positioned inside.

The male siblings took out the cooling unit from the unit on the date the woman and her child disappeared, the official stated. And a seven days after, they acquired another freezer.

Authorities say they consider this indicates the demise were intentionally orchestrated.

"How they died could not be determined due to the condition of the bodies," she stated.

Mayr—of the public prosecutor's office—stated the specific order of occurrences is not yet known, but the bodies were professionally hidden and were not found during a prior examination.

While the brothers were detained in the summer, it was not until the 12th of November that the suspect acknowledged an incident and to hiding the bodies. He disputes any plan to cause death, authorities said.

In a related development, his younger brother confessed to a attempt to hide evidence but rejected knowledge of a murder.

The two suspects are presently in pre-trial detention in detention centers in separate locations, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

Via a shared communication, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister declared the "alleged double murder... constitutes the swift and cruel conclusion of two individuals and reveals a brutal scheme".

"Females of all ages are being killed due to the mere fact that they are female," they added.

"Gender-based killings are a deeply rooted and society-wide problem that we must combat firmly."