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The bodies of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been located inside freezing appliances in an apartment in western Austria.

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were detected on Friday. The freezers were hidden behind a plasterboard wall in the dwelling, located in the Innsbruck area.

A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the female victim, stated to police last week that there had been an incident—but rejected homicide.

Addressing journalists previously, a spokesman for the legal authorities stated the pair were being kept in custody on "strong suspicion of murder".

Personal details of those concerned have not been released by law enforcement, in following Austrian law.

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

Investigators revealed the woman's colleague informed them at the time she had embarked on an prolonged visit with her child to see her family in the nation of Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then noted as being active overseas repeatedly.

But when investigators searched the woman's home, her cellphone was discovered.

An individual also reported listening to a loud noise in the apartment, and shouts of "mum" on the occasion the mother and child were presumed to have gone missing.

An expanded criminal probe was launched, with investigators uncovering various messages sent from the victim's mobile—such as a resignation letter to her company and texts to the male colleague.

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

The head of the State Criminal Police Office told reporters on that day that a storage unit had been secured before the victims' disappearance and a cooling unit had been positioned inside.

The two suspects extracted the freezer from the unit on the day the mother and daughter disappeared, Tersch stated. And a seven days after, they purchased a second unit.

Investigators state they think this points to the demise were premeditated.

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

A legal representative—of the public prosecutor's office—noted the exact sequence of events is still unclear, but the remains were professionally hidden and were not found during a earlier inspection.

Although the men were taken into custody in the summer, it was not until November 12 that the suspect admitted to an incident and to hiding the bodies. He denies any plan to cause death, officials confirmed.

At the same time, his 53-year-old sibling confessed to a cover-up but denied involvement in a homicide.

The two suspects are at this time in custody awaiting trial in detention centers in separate locations, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister said the "suspected killing of two... constitutes the swift and cruel conclusion of two individuals and uncovers a heartless setup".

"Female individuals are falling victim to homicide due to the mere fact that they are of the female gender," they added.

"Femicides are a profoundly embedded and issue affecting all of society that we must address decisively."