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

The victims, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been missing for several months, were found on the end of last week. The cooling units were concealed behind a false wall in the apartment, situated in the Innsbruck area.

Two men, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were taken into custody in June. The older man, a colleague of the female victim, stated to police last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but rejected murder.

Speaking to reporters recently, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office announced the brothers were being held on "serious suspicion of homicide".

Personal details of those involved have been withheld by law enforcement, in accordance with local legislation.

The vanishing of the mother and child was initially flagged by the cousin of the mother, who is based in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Authorities stated the male associate informed them at the time she had embarked on an long journey with her daughter to travel to her relatives in Turkey.

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

But when officers searched the victim's residence, her mobile phone was found.

Someone also stated hearing a loud noise in the apartment, and screams of "mum" on the day the mother and child were presumed to have gone missing.

A wider criminal probe was launched, with authorities discovering multiple communications originating from the victim's mobile—among them a notice of quitting to her employer and texts to the male colleague.

Officials said a amount in the thousands was also moved to the man.

Katja Tersch informed the press on recently that a rented space had been rented out before the mother and child went missing and a cooling unit had been installed within.

The brothers extracted the freezer from the unit on the day the victims went missing, she stated. And a seven days after, they purchased a second unit.

Investigators believe they believe this suggests the demise were planned in advance.

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

The prosecutor's spokesman—from the legal authorities—stated the exact sequence of events is yet to be determined, but the victims were expertly concealed and not discovered during a prior examination.

Although the suspects were detained in the summer, it was not until 12 November that the elder brother confessed to an event and to hiding the bodies. He disputes any plan to cause death, investigators confirmed.

Meanwhile, his younger brother admitted to a concealment but disputed involvement in a killing.

The two suspects are presently in pre-trial detention in jails in separate locations, situated at a distance.

Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister said the "alleged double murder... constitutes the sudden and brutal end of two human lives and exposes a brutal scheme".

"Women and girls are being murdered due to the sole reason that they are of the female gender," they went on to say.

"Murders of women are a profoundly embedded and issue affecting all of society that we must address decisively."