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

The deceased, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were found on the end of last week. The freezers were concealed behind a false wall in the dwelling, situated in the Innsbruck area.

Two men, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were taken into custody in the month of June. The elder brother, a colleague of the female victim, stated to law enforcement last week that there had been an incident—but rejected intentional killing.

Informing reporters recently, a spokesman for the state prosecutor announced the brothers were being detained on "serious suspicion of homicide".

The names of those concerned have not been disclosed by police, in following local legislation.

Their going missing was originally brought to light by the cousin of the mother, who is based in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Authorities said the woman's colleague told them at the time she had taken an long journey with her child to see her family in Turkey.

Her bank card was then found to have been used abroad repeatedly.

Yet when officers examined the woman's home, her cellphone was found.

An individual also stated listening to a commotion in the apartment, and screams of "mama" on the day the mother and child were believed to have vanished.

A wider police investigation was launched, with authorities discovering several texts transmitted via the mother's device—including a job termination message to her workplace and texts to the 55-year-old suspect.

Authorities stated a significant cash transfer was also sent to the suspect.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office informed reporters on recently that a rented space had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a cooling unit had been positioned inside.

The male siblings extracted the freezer from the storage space on the very day the woman and her child disappeared, she said. And a shortly afterward, they acquired another freezer.

Authorities say they believe this points to the fatalities were planned in advance.

"The reason for their demise could not be determined due to the advanced decay of the remains," the official commented.

The prosecutor's spokesman—representing the state—said the specific order of occurrences is not yet known, but the victims were expertly concealed and went unnoticed during a earlier inspection.

Although the suspects were arrested in June, it was only on November 12 that the elder brother acknowledged an incident and to hiding the bodies. He disputes any murderous intent, officials confirmed.

In a related development, his younger brother admitted to a attempt to hide evidence but rejected awareness of a homicide.

The pair are currently in detention before court proceedings in detention centers in Innsbruck and Salzburg, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative said the "reported homicide of mother and child... represents the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and uncovers a heartless setup".

"Women and girls are being killed due to the simple reality that they are female," they went on to say.

"Murders of women are a deeply rooted and issue affecting all of society that we must combat firmly."