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

The victims, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been missing for a number of months, were found on Friday. The cooling units were hidden behind a plasterboard wall in the apartment, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were taken into custody in the month of June. The older man, a colleague of the Syrian woman, told authorities last week that there had been an incident—but denied intentional killing.

Addressing reporters previously, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office announced the pair were being kept in custody on "serious suspicion of homicide".

The identities of those concerned have not been disclosed by law enforcement, in compliance with national regulations.

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

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

The victim's bank card was then found to have been used abroad repeatedly.

Yet when investigators searched the mother's apartment, her mobile phone was discovered.

An individual also claimed listening to a loud noise in the dwelling, and screams of "mama" on the date the mother and child were believed to have vanished.

A broader criminal probe was initiated, with officers finding several texts sent from the woman's phone—such as a job termination message to her workplace and texts to the male associate.

Authorities said a amount in the thousands was also transferred to the suspect.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office informed media representatives on that day that a storage facility had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a freezing appliance had been placed there.

The male siblings took out the freezer from the storage space on the day the mother and daughter went missing, she revealed. And a shortly afterward, they acquired another freezer.

Officials state they think this suggests the fatalities were premeditated.

"The cause of death remains unclear due to the advanced decay of the victims," Tersch stated.

Mayr—representing the state—said the specific order of occurrences is not yet known, but the remains were professionally hidden and were not found during a previous house search.

Although the suspects were arrested in June, it was only on 12 November that the elder brother acknowledged an incident and to storing the victims. He disputes any plan to cause death, authorities stated.

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

The brothers are presently in detention before court proceedings in jails in two Austrian cities, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister said the "alleged double murder... represents the swift and cruel conclusion of two human lives and reveals a heartless setup".

"Female individuals are being murdered due to the simple reality that they are female," they went on to say.

"Femicides are a deeply rooted and issue affecting all of society that we must fight resolutely."