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The bodies of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been found 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 uncovered on Friday. The cooling units were concealed behind a false wall in the apartment, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in June. The 55-year-old, a work associate of the female victim, stated to law enforcement last week that there had been an accident—but denied murder.

Informing the media previously, a official for the public prosecutor's office said the brothers were being kept in custody on "strong suspicion of homicide".

Personal details of those involved have been withheld by police, in accordance with local legislation.

Their going missing was first reported by the female victim's relative, who resides in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Investigators stated the male associate told them at the time she had embarked on an extended trip with her daughter to see her family in the nation of Turkey.

The mother's debit card was then noted as being active in foreign locations on multiple occasions.

Yet when officers entered the mother's apartment, her mobile phone was discovered.

Someone also reported overhearing a loud noise in the dwelling, and shouts of "mama" on the day the two were believed to have vanished.

A broader criminal probe was initiated, with investigators finding several texts sent from the woman's phone—among them a resignation letter to her employer and messages to the male colleague.

Law enforcement said a significant cash transfer was also moved to the individual.

A senior police official told reporters on that day that a storage facility had been leased before the vanishing and a freezer had been placed there.

The two suspects removed the cooling unit from the facility on the date the woman and her child disappeared, Tersch revealed. And a shortly afterward, they obtained a second unit.

Investigators state they believe this suggests the demise were intentionally orchestrated.

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

The prosecutor's spokesman—representing the state—said the specific order of occurrences is still unclear, but the bodies were carefully placed and not discovered during a previous house search.

While the suspects were taken into custody in June, it was only on November 12 that the suspect admitted to an event and to storing the victims. He denies any plan to cause death, officials confirmed.

At the same time, his brother acknowledged a cover-up but rejected knowledge of a homicide.

The pair are at this time in custody awaiting trial in jails in separate locations, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Via a shared communication, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister declared the "reported homicide of mother and child... constitutes the swift and cruel conclusion of two human lives and reveals a cruel system".

"Females of all ages are falling victim to homicide due to the simple reality that they are female," they went on to say.

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