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The bodies of a mother aged 34 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 missing for a number of months, were detected on Friday. The freezers were concealed behind a plasterboard wall in the dwelling, located in the city of Innsbruck.

Two men, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were detained in the month of June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the female victim, told police last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but denied homicide.

Informing the media previously, a spokesman for the state prosecutor said the two suspects were being held on "serious suspicion of intentional killing".

The names 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 lives in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Authorities said the 55-year-old suspect informed them at the time she had gone on an long journey with her daughter to see her family in Turkey.

The mother's debit card was then discovered to be utilized abroad repeatedly.

But when police examined the mother's apartment, her smartphone was located.

Someone also stated overhearing a commotion in the apartment, and screams of "mama" on the date the pair were believed to have vanished.

An expanded criminal probe was initiated, with investigators finding several texts transmitted via the woman's phone—such as a notice of quitting to her company and messages to the male associate.

Authorities stated a amount in the thousands was also transferred to the individual.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office informed media representatives on that day that a storage unit had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a cooling unit had been positioned inside.

The brothers extracted the cooling unit from the facility on the day the victims went missing, the official revealed. And a seven days after, they acquired another freezer.

Authorities say they consider this indicates the fatalities were intentionally orchestrated.

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

Mayr—from the legal authorities—stated the specific order of occurrences is still unclear, but the remains were carefully placed and not discovered during a prior examination.

While the brothers were taken into custody in June, it was not until the 12th of November that the 55-year-old acknowledged an incident and to storing the victims. He rejects any murderous intent, officials said.

Meanwhile, his younger brother confessed to a cover-up but disputed knowledge of a homicide.

The brothers are presently in custody awaiting trial in jails in separate locations, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

Via a shared communication, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative declared the "alleged double murder... constitutes the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and exposes a brutal scheme".

"Women and girls are being killed due to the mere fact that they are female," they went on to say.

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