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The deceased of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been located inside freezers in an residence in western Austria.

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

A pair of males, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were arrested in June. The elder brother, a colleague of the female victim, stated to authorities last week that there had been an incident—but denied murder.

Speaking to the media earlier, a representative for the state prosecutor stated the brothers were being kept in custody on "high likelihood of intentional killing".

Personal details of those concerned have been withheld by authorities, in compliance with local legislation.

Their going missing was originally brought to light by the cousin of the mother, who lives in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Investigators said the 55-year-old suspect told them at the time she had embarked on an prolonged visit with her child to see her family in the nation of Turkey.

Her bank card was then noted as being active in foreign locations repeatedly.

But when investigators entered the mother's apartment, her smartphone was found.

A witness also claimed hearing a commotion in the dwelling, and screams of "mum" on the occasion the two were presumed to have gone missing.

A wider police investigation was launched, with investigators uncovering various messages transmitted via the victim's mobile—including a notice of quitting to her employer and messages to the 55-year-old suspect.

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

Katja Tersch stated to media representatives on Tuesday that a storage facility had been secured before the vanishing and a cooling unit had been positioned inside.

The brothers removed the appliance from the storage space on the day the victims went missing, the official stated. And a seven days after, they purchased a second unit.

Authorities say they think this indicates the deaths were planned in advance.

"How they died could not be determined due to the advanced decay of the bodies," she said.

Mayr—from the legal authorities—said the precise timeline is not yet known, but the bodies were professionally hidden and not discovered during a previous house search.

Although the brothers were arrested in June, it was only on the 12th of November that the elder brother confessed to an incident and to hiding the bodies. He denies any plan to cause death, authorities confirmed.

In a related development, his 53-year-old sibling acknowledged a concealment but disputed involvement in a homicide.

The pair are currently in pre-trial detention in jails in two Austrian cities, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

In a joint statement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister declared the "reported homicide of mother and child... represents the abrupt and violent termination of two human lives and reveals a brutal scheme".

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

"Murders of women are a strongly established and widespread concern that we must address decisively."