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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 flat in western Austria.

The deceased, a Syrian woman 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 placed behind a false wall in the dwelling, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were detained in the month of June. The elder brother, a colleague of the female victim, informed authorities last week that there had been an accident—but denied homicide.

Informing journalists recently, a representative for the state prosecutor stated the two suspects were being kept in custody on "strong suspicion of intentional killing".

The names of those concerned have been withheld by authorities, in accordance with Austrian law.

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

Police said the woman's colleague informed them at the time she had taken an long journey with her child to travel to her relatives in Turkey.

Her bank card was then discovered to be utilized in foreign locations several times.

However when investigators examined the woman's home, her cellphone was discovered.

A witness also claimed listening to a loud noise in the apartment, and shouts of "mama" on the day the pair were thought to have disappeared.

A broader criminal probe was launched, with investigators uncovering multiple communications transmitted via the mother's device—including a resignation letter to her company and texts to the male associate.

Officials stated a significant cash transfer was also sent to the suspect.

A senior police official informed media representatives on recently that a storage unit had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been installed within.

The brothers took out the freezer from the facility on the very day the woman and her child went missing, she revealed. And a shortly afterward, they obtained another freezer.

Authorities say they believe this indicates the deaths were intentionally orchestrated.

"The cause of death was not identifiable due to the condition of the remains," the official stated.

Mayr—from the legal authorities—noted the precise timeline is yet to be determined, but the bodies were expertly concealed and were not found during a earlier inspection.

While the men were taken into custody in June, it was only on 12 November that the 55-year-old confessed to an event and to storing the victims. He disputes any intent to kill, investigators stated.

In a related development, his younger brother admitted to a cover-up but disputed awareness of a killing.

The pair are at this time in custody awaiting trial in prisons in two Austrian cities, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister said the "alleged double murder... constitutes the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and exposes a heartless setup".

"Females of all ages are being murdered due to the sole reason that they are female," they continued.

"Femicides are a strongly established and society-wide problem that we must combat firmly."