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The bodies of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been found inside freezing appliances in an apartment in the western part of Austria.

The victims, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were uncovered on the end of last week. The cooling units were concealed behind a false wall in the apartment, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

Two men, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were detained in June. The older man, a work associate of the Syrian woman, informed law enforcement last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but denied murder.

Addressing the media earlier, a official for the legal authorities said the brothers were being kept in custody on "strong suspicion of homicide".

Personal details of those concerned have been withheld by police, in compliance with national regulations.

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

Investigators revealed the male associate told 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 overseas repeatedly.

However when officers searched the mother's apartment, her mobile phone was found.

Someone also claimed hearing a loud noise in the dwelling, and screams of "mum" on the occasion the mother and child were thought to have disappeared.

A broader criminal probe was initiated, with authorities finding various messages originating from the victim's mobile—such as a job termination message to her company and texts to the male associate.

Law enforcement stated a four-figure sum was also moved to the individual.

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

The male siblings extracted the freezer from the facility on the very day the woman and her child disappeared, Tersch revealed. And a shortly afterward, they purchased a second unit.

Officials state they believe this suggests the fatalities were premeditated.

"The cause of death could not be determined due to the advanced decay of the bodies," Tersch commented.

A legal representative—of the public prosecutor's office—stated the exact sequence of events is still unclear, but the bodies were professionally hidden and were not found during a prior examination.

Although the brothers were arrested in the summer, it was only on 12 November that the elder brother confessed to an event and to hiding the bodies. He rejects any plan to cause death, officials said.

In a related development, his brother acknowledged a concealment but denied awareness of a homicide.

The two suspects are currently in detention before court proceedings in jails in two Austrian cities, situated at a distance.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister said the "suspected killing of two... represents the swift and cruel conclusion of two human lives and reveals a heartless setup".

"Females of all ages are falling victim to homicide due to the sole reason that they are of the female gender," they went on to say.

"Gender-based killings are a strongly established and society-wide problem that we must fight resolutely."