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The deceased of a 34-year-old woman 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 unaccounted for for a number of months, were uncovered on Friday. The freezers were hidden behind a drywall partition in the dwelling, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

A pair of males, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in the month of June. The 55-year-old, a work associate of the Syrian woman, stated to law enforcement last week that there had been an incident—but disputed intentional killing.

Informing reporters previously, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office said the two suspects were being held on "high likelihood of murder".

The identities of those involved have been withheld by law enforcement, in compliance with local legislation.

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

Police revealed the male associate claimed at the time she had gone on an prolonged visit with her child to travel to her relatives in Turkey.

The mother's debit card was then found to have been used overseas repeatedly.

But when police entered the woman's home, her mobile phone was found.

An individual also stated overhearing a commotion in the dwelling, and screams of "mama" on the day the pair were thought to have disappeared.

An expanded police investigation was started, with officers discovering various messages transmitted via the mother's device—including a job termination message to her workplace and communications to the 55-year-old suspect.

Law enforcement confirmed a significant cash transfer was also transferred to the individual.

A senior police official informed the press on that day that a rented space had been rented out before the victims' disappearance and a cooling unit had been placed there.

The two suspects extracted the cooling unit from the unit on the date the woman and her child disappeared, the official stated. And a week later, they acquired another freezer.

Investigators say they think this points to the demise were premeditated.

"The reason for their demise could not be determined due to the state of decomposition of the victims," Tersch commented.

The prosecutor's spokesman—from the legal authorities—noted the specific order of occurrences is yet to be determined, but the bodies were professionally hidden and went unnoticed during a earlier inspection.

While the brothers were taken into custody in June, it was not until 12 November that the suspect confessed to an incident and to storing the victims. He rejects any intent to kill, authorities said.

At the same time, his brother confessed to a attempt to hide evidence but denied involvement in a killing.

The two suspects are currently in custody awaiting trial in jails in Innsbruck and Salzburg, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

Via a shared communication, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister said the "reported homicide of mother and child... represents the sudden and brutal end of two human lives and exposes a heartless setup".

"Female individuals are falling victim to homicide due to the sole reason that they are women and girls," they continued.

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