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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 flat in western Austria.

The victims, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were found on the end of last week. The cooling units were hidden behind a false wall in the flat, located in the Innsbruck area.

Two men, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in June. The elder brother, a colleague of the Syrian woman, informed police last week that there had been an accident—but disputed homicide.

Addressing journalists earlier, a official for the state prosecutor announced the pair were being kept in custody on "serious suspicion of murder".

The names of those implicated have not been released by law enforcement, in compliance with local legislation.

Their going missing was originally brought to light 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 extended trip with her daughter to travel to her relatives in Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then noted as being active abroad on multiple occasions.

However when investigators searched the victim's residence, her mobile phone was found.

A witness also stated listening to a commotion in the flat, and shouts of "mum" on the day the mother and child were thought to have disappeared.

A wider police investigation was started, with authorities uncovering multiple communications sent from the victim's mobile—including a job termination message to her employer and texts to the male colleague.

Officials stated a amount in the thousands was also sent to the individual.

A senior police official informed reporters on Tuesday that a storage facility had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been placed there.

The two suspects removed the freezer from the unit on the day the victims went missing, she said. And a shortly afterward, they obtained an additional appliance.

Investigators believe they consider this suggests the fatalities were planned in advance.

"How they died could not be determined due to the state of decomposition of the remains," Tersch commented.

The prosecutor's spokesman—representing the state—said the precise timeline is yet to be determined, but the victims were expertly concealed and not discovered during a prior examination.

Although the brothers were detained in June, it was only on November 12 that the 55-year-old acknowledged an event and to hiding the bodies. He disputes any murderous intent, authorities confirmed.

Meanwhile, his brother acknowledged a cover-up but disputed awareness of a murder.

The brothers are presently in detention before court proceedings in jails in Innsbruck and Salzburg, situated at a distance.

Via a shared communication, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister stated the "suspected killing of two... represents the sudden and brutal end of two individuals and reveals a brutal scheme".

"Women and girls are being killed due to the sole reason that they are of the female gender," they added.

"Femicides are a strongly established and issue affecting all of society that we must combat firmly."