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The remains of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been found inside freezing appliances in an flat in the western part of Austria.

The deceased, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been missing for several months, were uncovered on Friday. The freezers were placed behind a plasterboard wall in the flat, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

Two men, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were detained in June. The elder brother, a work associate of the Syrian woman, told authorities last week that there had been an incident—but disputed intentional killing.

Speaking to the media previously, a official for the public prosecutor's office announced the two suspects were being kept in custody on "serious suspicion of murder".

The identities of those concerned have not been released by law enforcement, in accordance with Austrian law.

The family's disappearance was initially flagged by the cousin of the mother, who lives in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Authorities said the woman's colleague informed them at the time she had embarked on an prolonged visit with her child to visit her parents in Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then noted as being active overseas on multiple occasions.

But when police entered the woman's home, her cellphone was discovered.

An individual also claimed 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 criminal probe was initiated, with authorities discovering various messages sent from the woman's phone—including a resignation letter to her company and messages to the male colleague.

Law enforcement said a significant cash transfer was also moved to the suspect.

A senior police official told the press on recently that a storage unit had been rented out before the mother and child went missing and a freezing appliance had been placed there.

The brothers extracted the appliance from the facility on the day the victims disappeared, Tersch stated. And a week later, they purchased an additional appliance.

Authorities state they believe this indicates the fatalities were planned in advance.

"The cause of death was not identifiable due to the state of decomposition of the remains," the official commented.

A legal representative—of the public prosecutor's office—stated the precise timeline is not yet known, but the victims were carefully placed and not discovered during a previous house search.

Although the brothers were detained in the summer, it was only on the 12th of November that the elder brother acknowledged an occurrence and to hiding the bodies. He denies any murderous intent, authorities confirmed.

Meanwhile, his 53-year-old sibling confessed to a cover-up but rejected knowledge of a murder.

The two suspects are at this time in custody awaiting trial in jails in separate locations, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

In a joint statement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister declared the "alleged double murder... represents the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and exposes a brutal scheme".

"Women and girls are being murdered due to the mere fact that they are female," they added.

"Murders of women are a profoundly embedded and widespread concern that we must address decisively."