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The deceased of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been located inside freezers in an apartment in the western part of Austria.

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been missing for a number of months, were uncovered on the end of last week. The cooling units were placed behind a drywall partition in the dwelling, situated in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in June. The older man, a work associate of the female victim, stated to law enforcement last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but denied murder.

Speaking to journalists earlier, a representative for the legal authorities said the two suspects were being detained on "strong suspicion of homicide".

The identities of those involved have been withheld by law enforcement, in compliance with Austrian law.

The family's disappearance was first reported by the woman's cousin, who is based in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

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

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

However when officers searched the woman's home, her mobile phone was found.

An individual also stated listening to a disturbing sound in the flat, and cries of "mother" on the day the pair were thought to have disappeared.

A broader criminal probe was started, with officers finding several texts originating from the mother's device—including a notice of quitting to her employer and communications to the 55-year-old suspect.

Authorities stated a significant cash transfer was also moved to the man.

A senior police official stated to media representatives on that day that a storage unit had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a cooling unit had been installed within.

The male siblings removed the appliance from the storage space on the date the victims went missing, Tersch revealed. And a seven days after, they obtained an additional appliance.

Officials say they consider this points to the deaths were premeditated.

"How they died could not be determined due to the state of decomposition of the bodies," she stated.

The prosecutor's spokesman—representing the state—stated the specific order of occurrences is not yet known, but the bodies were expertly concealed and went unnoticed during a earlier inspection.

While the suspects were detained in the summer, it was only on 12 November that the 55-year-old acknowledged an event and to concealing the remains. He disputes any plan to cause death, authorities stated.

Meanwhile, his brother confessed to a attempt to hide evidence but denied knowledge of a killing.

The two suspects are currently in custody awaiting trial in prisons in separate locations, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

Via a shared communication, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister said the "reported homicide of mother and child... represents the swift and cruel conclusion of two individuals and exposes a brutal scheme".

"Females of all ages are being killed due to the sole reason that they are women and girls," they added.

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