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The deceased of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been found inside freezers in an apartment in western 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 placed behind a drywall partition in the flat, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

A pair of males, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were taken into custody in June. The elder brother, a colleague of the female victim, told police last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but denied homicide.

Informing the media previously, a spokesman for the state prosecutor said the two suspects were being detained on "strong suspicion of intentional killing".

The identities of those concerned have not been disclosed by authorities, in accordance with national regulations.

Their going missing was originally brought to light by the female victim's relative, who resides in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Investigators 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 the nation of Turkey.

Her bank card was then found to have been used abroad several times.

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

Someone also claimed listening to a disturbing sound in the flat, and cries of "mama" on the day the two were presumed to have gone missing.

A broader police investigation was initiated, with authorities uncovering several texts originating from the mother's device—such as a resignation letter to her workplace and messages to the male colleague.

Officials said a four-figure sum was also moved to the individual.

Katja Tersch stated to reporters on Tuesday that a storage unit had been secured before the victims' disappearance and a freezing appliance had been placed there.

The two suspects extracted the cooling unit from the facility on the date the victims disappeared, Tersch revealed. And a shortly afterward, they obtained another freezer.

Authorities say they consider this indicates the fatalities were intentionally orchestrated.

"The cause of death could not be determined due to the state of decomposition of the remains," the official said.

The prosecutor's spokesman—from the legal authorities—noted the exact sequence of events is still unclear, but the bodies were expertly concealed and not discovered during a previous house search.

Although the brothers were arrested in June, it was only on the 12th of November that the suspect confessed to an incident and to hiding the bodies. He rejects any murderous intent, officials said.

Meanwhile, his 53-year-old sibling confessed to a concealment but rejected knowledge of a homicide.

The pair are currently in detention before court proceedings in prisons in two Austrian cities, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Via a shared communication, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister said the "suspected killing of two... represents the sudden and brutal end of two individuals and exposes a heartless setup".

"Women and girls are falling victim to homicide due to the simple reality that they are women and girls," they continued.

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