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

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been missing for several months, were detected on Friday. The cooling units were concealed behind a false wall in the apartment, located in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were arrested in the month of June. The older man, a work associate of the female victim, stated to authorities last week that there had been an incident—but denied murder.

Speaking to the media earlier, a spokesman for the state prosecutor said the brothers were being detained on "strong suspicion of intentional killing".

The names of those concerned have not been released by authorities, in compliance with national regulations.

The family's disappearance was initially flagged by the cousin of the mother, who resides in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Authorities stated the woman's colleague informed them at the time she had taken an long journey with her daughter to see her family in the nation of Turkey.

Her bank card was then noted as being active abroad on multiple occasions.

Yet when police examined the mother's apartment, her mobile phone was located.

Someone also reported listening to a loud noise in the apartment, and cries of "mum" on the day the pair were thought to have disappeared.

A broader official inquiry was launched, with authorities discovering various messages transmitted via the woman's phone—among them a resignation letter to her company and messages to the 55-year-old suspect.

Authorities stated a four-figure sum was also moved to the suspect.

A senior police official told media representatives on that day that a rented space had been secured before the mother and child went missing and a freezer had been installed within.

The two suspects removed the cooling unit from the unit on the very day the mother and daughter went missing, she said. And a seven days after, they acquired an additional appliance.

Officials state they believe this indicates the deaths were planned in advance.

"The reason for their demise could not be determined due to the state of decomposition of the victims," the official stated.

Mayr—representing the state—stated the specific order of occurrences is still unclear, but the remains were expertly concealed and went unnoticed during a earlier inspection.

While the men were arrested in the summer, it was only on November 12 that the suspect confessed to an event and to concealing the remains. He denies any plan to cause death, authorities stated.

In a related development, his brother confessed to a attempt to hide evidence but disputed awareness of a murder.

The pair are currently in pre-trial detention in jails in separate locations, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister said the "alleged double murder... symbolizes the swift and cruel conclusion of two individuals and uncovers a brutal scheme".

"Females of all ages are being killed due to the sole reason that they are female," they went on to say.

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