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

The victims, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been missing for a number of months, were detected on the end of last week. The freezers were concealed behind a false wall in the apartment, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

Two men, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were taken into custody in the month of June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the female victim, stated to police last week that there had been an accident—but denied murder.

Speaking to the media previously, a spokesman for the legal authorities announced the pair were being held on "serious suspicion of homicide".

The identities of those implicated have been withheld by authorities, in following Austrian law.

Their going missing was initially flagged by the woman's cousin, who resides in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Police stated the male associate claimed at the time she had taken an long journey with her daughter to travel to her relatives in Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then noted as being active in foreign locations several times.

Yet when police entered the mother's apartment, her smartphone was discovered.

A witness also reported hearing a commotion in the flat, and screams of "mama" on the day the mother and child were presumed to have gone missing.

A broader police investigation was launched, with authorities discovering several texts transmitted via the woman's phone—such as a notice of quitting to her company and communications to the male associate.

Officials said a significant cash transfer was also transferred to the suspect.

Katja Tersch stated to the press on Tuesday that a storage facility had been secured before the mother and child went missing and a freezing appliance had been installed within.

The two suspects removed the freezer from the storage space on the very day the woman and her child went missing, the official revealed. And a seven days after, they acquired a second unit.

Officials state they think this indicates the demise were premeditated.

"How they died remains unclear due to the advanced decay of the remains," the official commented.

The prosecutor's spokesman—of the public prosecutor's office—stated the exact sequence of events is still unclear, but the victims were expertly concealed and were not found during a previous house search.

While the suspects were taken into custody in the summer, it was not until 12 November that the suspect confessed to an occurrence and to hiding the bodies. He disputes any intent to kill, officials said.

At the same time, his brother admitted to a cover-up but disputed awareness of a murder.

The pair are presently in pre-trial detention in detention centers in separate locations, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister declared the "reported homicide of mother and child... represents the sudden and brutal end of two human lives and exposes a brutal scheme".

"Women and girls are falling victim to homicide due to the sole reason that they are female," they continued.

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