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The bodies of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been found inside freezers in an apartment in western Austria.

The deceased, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were detected on Friday. The freezers were concealed behind a false wall in the apartment, located in the city of Innsbruck.

A pair of males, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were detained in the month of June. The elder brother, a colleague of the female victim, stated to authorities last week that there had been an incident—but denied homicide.

Informing reporters recently, a official for the legal authorities stated the two suspects were being kept in custody on "strong suspicion of intentional killing".

Personal details of those concerned have not been disclosed by authorities, in following Austrian law.

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

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

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

Yet when officers entered the woman's home, her cellphone was discovered.

A witness also stated listening to a disturbing sound in the apartment, and cries of "mother" on the day the two were believed to have vanished.

An expanded official inquiry was launched, with authorities uncovering multiple communications originating from the woman's phone—among them a notice of quitting to her company and messages to the male colleague.

Officials confirmed a four-figure sum was also sent to the individual.

A senior police official told reporters on that day that a storage unit had been secured before the victims' disappearance and a cooling unit had been placed there.

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

Authorities state they consider this indicates the deaths were premeditated.

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

Mayr—from the legal authorities—noted the specific order of occurrences is not yet known, but the remains were expertly concealed and not discovered during a earlier inspection.

While the brothers were taken into custody in June, it was not until 12 November that the suspect confessed to an occurrence and to hiding the bodies. He rejects any murderous intent, authorities confirmed.

Meanwhile, his brother confessed to a cover-up but denied awareness of a killing.

The pair are currently in custody awaiting trial in prisons 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... constitutes the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and uncovers a heartless setup".

"Females of all ages are falling victim to homicide due to the mere fact that they are women and girls," they went on to say.

"Gender-based killings are a strongly established and widespread concern that we must fight resolutely."