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The deceased of a 34-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter have been discovered inside freezing appliances in an apartment in the western part of Austria.

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were detected on the end of last week. The freezers were hidden behind a plasterboard wall in the dwelling, situated in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were arrested in June. The elder brother, a colleague of the female victim, told law enforcement last week that there had been an accident—but disputed intentional killing.

Speaking to journalists earlier, a representative for the state prosecutor stated the brothers were being kept in custody on "serious suspicion of murder".

Personal details of those concerned have not been released by authorities, in accordance with national regulations.

The vanishing of the mother and child was originally brought to light by the cousin of the mother, who resides in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Investigators revealed the 55-year-old suspect claimed at the time she had embarked on an extended trip with her child to travel to her relatives in the nation of Turkey.

Her bank card was then discovered to be utilized abroad on multiple occasions.

But when officers entered the woman's home, her smartphone was discovered.

An individual also claimed listening to a loud noise in the apartment, and cries of "mama" on the date the mother and child were thought to have disappeared.

An expanded official inquiry was launched, with officers discovering multiple communications originating from the mother's device—among them a notice of quitting to her company and communications to the male colleague.

Officials stated a amount in the thousands was also moved to the man.

Katja Tersch informed the press on Tuesday that a storage facility had been rented out before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been installed within.

The two suspects removed the appliance from the unit on the very day the mother and daughter disappeared, Tersch said. And a week later, they purchased a second unit.

Authorities say they believe this suggests the deaths were intentionally orchestrated.

"How they died was not identifiable due to the advanced decay of the bodies," Tersch said.

The prosecutor's spokesman—from the legal authorities—stated the precise timeline is still unclear, but the remains were professionally hidden and went unnoticed during a earlier inspection.

While the brothers were taken into custody in June, it was not until 12 November that the elder brother acknowledged an occurrence and to concealing the remains. He denies any murderous intent, authorities stated.

In a related development, his 53-year-old sibling admitted to a cover-up but disputed awareness of a murder.

The pair are currently in detention before court proceedings in prisons in separate locations, situated at a distance.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister said the "alleged double murder... symbolizes the abrupt and violent termination of two human lives and exposes a cruel system".

"Women and girls are falling victim to homicide 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 fight resolutely."