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The deceased of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been discovered inside freezing appliances in an apartment in the western part of Austria.

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

Two men, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were taken into custody in the month of June. The older man, a work associate of the Syrian woman, told police last week that there had been an accident—but rejected homicide.

Addressing reporters recently, a spokesman for the legal authorities stated the brothers were being detained on "serious suspicion of intentional killing".

The identities of those concerned have not been released by authorities, in accordance with national regulations.

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

Police said the male associate claimed at the time she had gone 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 in foreign locations several times.

But when police entered the victim's residence, her cellphone was discovered.

An individual also reported listening to a loud noise in the apartment, and screams of "mum" on the occasion the pair were believed to have vanished.

An expanded official inquiry was launched, with officers uncovering multiple communications transmitted via the woman's phone—including a notice of quitting to her employer and texts to the 55-year-old suspect.

Authorities said a significant cash transfer was also sent to the individual.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office informed reporters on that day that a storage facility had been rented out before the mother and child went missing and a freezing appliance had been installed within.

The two suspects extracted the freezer from the unit on the very day the mother and daughter vanished, the official stated. And a week later, they purchased another freezer.

Investigators say they consider this suggests the deaths were intentionally orchestrated.

"How they died was not identifiable due to the advanced decay of the victims," the official said.

The prosecutor's spokesman—from the legal authorities—said the exact sequence of events is not yet known, but the victims were expertly concealed and went unnoticed during a earlier inspection.

While the suspects were taken into custody in June, it was only on November 12 that the suspect acknowledged an occurrence and to concealing the remains. He denies any murderous intent, investigators stated.

Meanwhile, his brother acknowledged a attempt to hide evidence but denied involvement in a murder.

The brothers are currently in pre-trial detention in jails in Innsbruck and Salzburg, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Via a shared communication, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative declared the "suspected killing of two... constitutes the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and uncovers a cruel system".

"Females of all ages are being killed due to the mere fact that they are women and girls," they added.

"Femicides are a deeply rooted and issue affecting all of society that we must combat firmly."