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The bodies of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been found inside freezing appliances in an flat in the western part of Austria.

The victims, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been missing for several months, were detected on the end of last week. The cooling units were placed behind a drywall partition in the flat, situated in the Innsbruck area.

Two men, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were taken into custody in June. The older man, a colleague of the Syrian woman, told police last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but rejected murder.

Informing reporters previously, a official for the legal authorities said the pair were being held on "high likelihood of intentional killing".

Personal details of those implicated have not been disclosed by police, in accordance with Austrian law.

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

Investigators said the woman's colleague informed them at the time she had taken an long journey with her daughter to travel to her relatives in Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then noted as being active abroad on multiple occasions.

But when investigators entered the mother's apartment, her cellphone was located.

Someone also reported overhearing a disturbing sound in the dwelling, and shouts of "mama" on the occasion the two were believed to have vanished.

A wider police investigation was launched, with officers finding various messages sent from the woman's phone—including a resignation letter to her company and messages to the 55-year-old suspect.

Officials stated a amount in the thousands was also sent to the individual.

Katja Tersch informed reporters on Tuesday that a storage unit had been secured before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been positioned inside.

The brothers extracted the freezer from the storage space on the day the victims vanished, the official stated. And a shortly afterward, they acquired an additional appliance.

Authorities state they believe this suggests the deaths were intentionally orchestrated.

"The reason for their demise could not be determined due to the advanced decay of the bodies," she commented.

A legal representative—from the legal authorities—said the precise timeline is yet to be determined, but the bodies were carefully placed and were not found during a previous house search.

While the men were detained 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 murderous intent, officials stated.

In a related development, his younger brother confessed to a concealment but rejected involvement in a murder.

The two suspects are currently in custody awaiting trial in jails in Innsbruck and Salzburg, situated at a distance.

In a joint statement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister said the "reported homicide of mother and child... constitutes the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and uncovers a cruel system".

"Female individuals are falling victim to homicide due to the mere fact that they are female," they continued.

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