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The deceased of a 34-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter have been discovered inside freezing appliances in an flat in western Austria.

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been missing for several months, were uncovered on Friday. The cooling units were hidden behind a drywall partition in the dwelling, located in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were taken into custody in June. The older man, a work associate of the female victim, told law enforcement last week that there had been an accident—but denied murder.

Informing reporters recently, a representative for the state prosecutor stated the pair were being kept in custody on "serious suspicion of intentional killing".

The identities of those implicated have not been released by law enforcement, in accordance with Austrian law.

Their going missing was originally brought to light by the woman's cousin, who lives in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Police revealed the male associate told them at the time she had gone on an long journey with her daughter to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then found to have been used abroad on multiple occasions.

Yet when investigators entered the mother's apartment, her smartphone was located.

A witness also claimed listening to a disturbing sound in the flat, and screams of "mum" on the date the two were believed to have vanished.

A broader police investigation was launched, with officers uncovering several texts transmitted via the mother's device—among them a job termination message to her workplace and messages to the male colleague.

Authorities confirmed a four-figure sum was also sent to the man.

A senior police official told media representatives on Tuesday that a rented space had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been positioned inside.

The male siblings extracted the appliance from the unit on the date the mother and daughter went missing, Tersch stated. And a week later, they obtained a second unit.

Officials believe they believe this indicates the deaths were intentionally orchestrated.

"The reason for their demise was not identifiable due to the condition of the remains," Tersch said.

The prosecutor's spokesman—from the legal authorities—noted the exact sequence of events is not yet known, but the victims were professionally hidden and were not found during a prior examination.

Although the suspects were taken into custody in the summer, it was not until 12 November that the 55-year-old confessed to an event and to storing the victims. He disputes any murderous intent, investigators stated.

In a related development, his brother admitted to a attempt to hide evidence but denied knowledge of a killing.

The two suspects are presently in custody awaiting trial in jails in Innsbruck and Salzburg, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

In a joint statement, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative said the "reported homicide of mother and child... represents the sudden and brutal end of a mother and child and reveals a cruel system".

"Females of all ages are falling victim to homicide due to the simple reality that they are of the female gender," they continued.

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