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The bodies of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been found inside freezers in an flat in the western part of Austria.

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been missing for several months, were found on the end of last week. The cooling units were placed behind a plasterboard wall in the apartment, located in the Innsbruck area.

Two men, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in the month of June. The older man, a colleague of the Syrian woman, told authorities last week that there had been an accident—but denied intentional killing.

Informing the media earlier, a representative for the public prosecutor's office said the pair were being detained on "serious suspicion of murder".

The identities of those involved have not been disclosed by law enforcement, in compliance with local legislation.

The vanishing of the mother and child was initially flagged by the female victim's relative, who is based in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Authorities said the 55-year-old suspect told them at the time she had taken an prolonged visit with her child to see her family in the nation of Turkey.

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

However when investigators searched the woman's home, her smartphone was found.

Someone also stated overhearing a loud noise in the flat, and screams of "mum" on the day the pair were believed to have vanished.

A wider police investigation was launched, with authorities uncovering multiple communications transmitted via the mother's device—including a job termination message to her employer and messages to the male colleague.

Officials said a amount in the thousands was also moved to the suspect.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office informed media representatives on recently that a storage facility had been rented out before the vanishing and a freezer had been placed there.

The brothers removed the appliance from the storage space on the day the victims vanished, the official revealed. And a shortly afterward, they purchased an additional appliance.

Investigators say they consider this suggests the deaths were premeditated.

"The cause of death was not identifiable due to the advanced decay of the bodies," the official commented.

Mayr—from the legal authorities—noted the exact sequence of events is yet to be determined, but the bodies were professionally hidden and went unnoticed during a earlier inspection.

While the suspects were taken into custody in June, it was not until November 12 that the 55-year-old confessed to an occurrence and to concealing the remains. He denies any murderous intent, officials confirmed.

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

The two suspects are currently in detention before court proceedings in jails in two Austrian cities, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

Via a shared communication, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative declared the "reported homicide of mother and child... symbolizes the swift and cruel conclusion of two human lives and uncovers a cruel system".

"Females of all ages are falling victim to homicide due to the simple reality that they are women and girls," they added.

"Murders of women are a profoundly embedded and society-wide problem that we must fight resolutely."