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The bodies of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been discovered inside freezers in an flat in western Austria.

The victims, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been missing for a number of months, were uncovered on Friday. The freezers were concealed behind a drywall partition in the apartment, situated in the Innsbruck area.

A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were detained in the month of June. The elder brother, a work associate of the female victim, told police last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but rejected intentional killing.

Informing journalists earlier, a spokesman for the state prosecutor stated the brothers were being held on "strong suspicion of intentional killing".

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

Their going missing was initially flagged by the woman's cousin, who is based in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Police said the 55-year-old suspect informed them at the time she had taken an prolonged visit with her daughter to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.

The mother's debit card was then discovered to be utilized in foreign locations repeatedly.

But when police searched the mother's apartment, her smartphone was found.

Someone also reported overhearing a commotion in the apartment, and screams of "mother" on the day the pair were presumed to have gone missing.

A broader police investigation was started, with investigators discovering various messages transmitted via the woman's phone—including a resignation letter to her workplace and messages to the 55-year-old suspect.

Officials confirmed a four-figure sum was also transferred to the man.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office told media representatives on recently that a storage facility had been secured before the victims' disappearance and a cooling unit had been positioned inside.

The male siblings extracted the appliance from the storage space on the date the mother and daughter disappeared, Tersch said. And a shortly afterward, they acquired a second unit.

Investigators state they believe this suggests the deaths were premeditated.

"The cause of death remains unclear due to the advanced decay of the victims," the official stated.

The prosecutor's spokesman—of the public prosecutor's office—stated the exact sequence of events is yet to be determined, but the remains were expertly concealed and not discovered during a earlier inspection.

Although the suspects were arrested in June, it was only on November 12 that the elder brother acknowledged an event and to concealing the remains. He denies any intent to kill, authorities stated.

At the same time, his brother admitted to a attempt to hide evidence but denied awareness of a killing.

The pair are currently in custody awaiting trial in jails in two Austrian cities, situated at a distance.

Via a shared communication, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister said the "alleged double murder... constitutes the sudden and brutal end of two individuals and exposes a brutal scheme".

"Female individuals are being killed due to the mere fact that they are female," they added.

"Gender-based killings are a deeply rooted and issue affecting all of society that we must fight resolutely."