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The remains of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been located inside freezing appliances in an flat in the western part of Austria.

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

A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in June. The elder brother, a work associate of the female victim, informed law enforcement last week that there had been an incident—but disputed intentional killing.

Addressing the media earlier, a spokesman for the legal authorities stated the pair were being detained on "serious suspicion of intentional killing".

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

The vanishing of the mother and child was initially flagged by the cousin of the mother, who is based in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Authorities stated the male associate told them at the time she had gone on an long journey with her child to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.

The mother's debit card was then noted as being active in foreign locations on multiple occasions.

However when investigators entered the victim's residence, her cellphone was discovered.

An individual also reported listening to a disturbing sound in the apartment, and shouts of "mama" on the date the two were presumed to have gone missing.

A wider official inquiry was initiated, with investigators discovering multiple communications sent from the woman's phone—including a resignation letter to her company and communications to the male colleague.

Law enforcement said a four-figure sum was also moved to the man.

A senior police official stated to reporters on Tuesday that a storage unit had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a freezing appliance had been placed there.

The two suspects took out the freezer from the facility on the very day the victims went missing, Tersch stated. And a week later, they purchased a second unit.

Authorities say they believe this points to the fatalities were premeditated.

"The reason for their demise was not identifiable due to the condition of the bodies," the official commented.

Mayr—from the legal authorities—stated the precise timeline is still unclear, but the bodies were expertly concealed and were not found during a previous house search.

Although the men were detained in June, it was not until November 12 that the elder brother admitted to an event and to hiding the bodies. He denies any intent to kill, officials stated.

At the same time, his 53-year-old sibling acknowledged a concealment but denied awareness of a homicide.

The pair are presently in pre-trial detention in jails in two Austrian cities, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister stated the "reported homicide of mother and child... represents the swift and cruel conclusion of two individuals and reveals a heartless setup".

"Females of all ages are being killed due to the mere fact that they are of the female gender," they continued.

"Murders of women are a strongly established and issue affecting all of society that we must combat firmly."