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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 western Austria.

The victims, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were detected on Friday. The freezers were placed behind a drywall partition in the apartment, situated in the Innsbruck area.

A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were detained in the month of June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the female victim, informed police last week that there had been an accident—but denied murder.

Addressing the media earlier, a representative for the legal authorities announced the brothers were being held on "high likelihood of homicide".

Personal details of those implicated have not been disclosed by authorities, in compliance with local legislation.

The vanishing of the mother and child was initially flagged by the female victim's relative, who is based in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Police stated the woman's colleague claimed at the time she had taken an extended trip with her child to travel to her relatives in the nation of Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then discovered to be utilized in foreign locations on multiple occasions.

However when police entered the mother's apartment, her smartphone was found.

A witness also stated hearing a disturbing sound in the flat, and screams of "mum" on the day the mother and child were believed to have vanished.

An expanded police investigation was started, with officers uncovering several texts sent from the victim's mobile—such as a job termination message to her workplace and messages to the male colleague.

Authorities stated a significant cash transfer was also transferred to the individual.

Katja Tersch informed reporters on that day that a rented space had been rented out before the mother and child went missing and a freezing appliance had been placed there.

The two suspects took out the freezer from the storage space on the date the victims went missing, she stated. And a shortly afterward, they acquired an additional appliance.

Authorities say they think this points to the fatalities were intentionally orchestrated.

"The reason for their demise was not identifiable due to the condition of the bodies," the official said.

Mayr—of the public prosecutor's office—noted the specific order of occurrences is not yet known, but the bodies were professionally hidden and went unnoticed during a prior examination.

While the brothers were taken into custody in June, it was only on 12 November that the 55-year-old acknowledged an occurrence and to hiding the bodies. He disputes any murderous intent, officials stated.

Meanwhile, his 53-year-old sibling admitted to a concealment but denied knowledge of a murder.

The two suspects are currently in detention before court proceedings in detention centers in separate locations, situated at a distance.

In a joint statement, the nation's official for women's affairs and the top legal representative stated the "suspected killing of two... constitutes the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and uncovers a heartless setup".

"Women and girls are being killed due to the sole reason that they are female," they added.

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