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The deceased of a 34-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter have been discovered inside freezing appliances in an apartment in western Austria.

The victims, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been missing for several months, were uncovered on Friday. The freezers were concealed behind a false wall in the flat, located in the city of Innsbruck.

Two men, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were arrested in the month of June. The elder brother, a colleague of the female victim, informed authorities last week that there had been an accident—but rejected intentional killing.

Speaking to the media earlier, a spokesman for the state prosecutor stated the brothers were being held on "high likelihood of intentional killing".

Personal details of those concerned have not been disclosed by authorities, in following Austrian law.

The family's disappearance was originally brought to light by the woman's cousin, who resides in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Police stated the male associate informed them at the time she had gone on an long journey with her child to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.

Her bank card was then found to have been used in foreign locations several times.

But when investigators entered the mother's apartment, her mobile phone was discovered.

An individual also reported overhearing a commotion in the dwelling, and shouts of "mum" on the occasion the pair were believed to have vanished.

A wider police investigation was started, with officers finding several texts sent from the woman's phone—among them a notice of quitting to her employer and communications to the 55-year-old suspect.

Authorities confirmed a significant cash transfer was also moved to the individual.

A senior police official stated to the press on Tuesday that a storage unit had been leased before the mother and child went missing and a freezer had been placed there.

The male siblings removed the appliance from the facility on the date the mother and daughter vanished, Tersch said. And a week later, they obtained a second unit.

Officials say they consider this indicates the deaths were planned in advance.

"How they died was not identifiable due to the advanced decay of the bodies," she commented.

Mayr—of the public prosecutor's office—said the precise timeline is not yet known, but the victims were professionally hidden and were not found during a previous house search.

Although the men were taken into custody in the summer, it was only on 12 November that the 55-year-old confessed to an occurrence and to concealing the remains. He disputes any intent to kill, investigators said.

Meanwhile, his younger brother confessed to a concealment but disputed awareness of a homicide.

The two suspects are at this time in detention before court proceedings in prisons in two Austrian cities, situated at a distance.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister stated the "suspected killing of two... symbolizes the abrupt and violent termination of a mother and child and exposes a heartless setup".

"Females of all ages are falling victim to homicide due to the sole reason that they are women and girls," they added.

"Femicides are a deeply rooted and widespread concern that we must combat firmly."