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The remains of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been discovered inside freezers in an apartment in western Austria.

The victims, 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 flat, 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, stated to police last week that there had been an accident—but rejected homicide.

Speaking to journalists recently, a representative for the public prosecutor's office announced the two suspects were being kept in custody on "strong suspicion of murder".

The identities of those involved have not been released by police, in compliance with national regulations.

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

Authorities said the male associate told them at the time she had taken an prolonged visit with her child to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.

The mother's debit card was then found to have been used abroad on multiple occasions.

But when police examined the mother's apartment, her mobile phone was found.

Someone also stated listening to a commotion in the dwelling, and screams of "mama" on the date the two were presumed to have gone missing.

A wider criminal probe was initiated, with officers finding several texts originating from the woman's phone—including a notice of quitting to her employer and texts to the male colleague.

Officials stated a four-figure sum was also sent to the suspect.

A senior police official told reporters on recently that a storage unit had been rented out before the vanishing and a freezing appliance had been installed within.

The male siblings removed the appliance from the storage space on the very day the victims disappeared, Tersch revealed. And a shortly afterward, they purchased an additional appliance.

Officials believe they think this indicates the deaths were premeditated.

"How they died could not be determined due to the advanced decay of the bodies," she commented.

Mayr—from the legal authorities—said the specific order of occurrences is still unclear, but the bodies were expertly concealed and not discovered during a earlier inspection.

Although the brothers were detained in June, it was only on the 12th of November that the 55-year-old acknowledged an event and to storing the victims. He disputes any murderous intent, officials stated.

Meanwhile, his brother acknowledged a concealment but disputed knowledge of a homicide.

The two suspects are currently in pre-trial detention in detention centers in separate locations, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

In a joint statement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister declared the "reported homicide of mother and child... represents the abrupt and violent termination of a mother and child and exposes a heartless setup".

"Female individuals are being murdered due to the sole reason that they are women and girls," they went on to say.

"Gender-based killings are a deeply rooted and widespread concern that we must fight resolutely."