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The bodies of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been found inside freezing appliances in an residence in western Austria.

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were detected on the end of last week. The cooling units were concealed 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 arrested in the month of June. The elder brother, a work associate of the Syrian woman, stated to police last week that there had been an accident—but rejected intentional killing.

Informing the media previously, a representative for the legal authorities stated the pair were being detained on "serious suspicion of murder".

The names of those involved have not been released by authorities, in compliance with national regulations.

Their going missing was originally brought to light by the female victim's relative, who is based in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Authorities stated the woman's colleague claimed at the time she had embarked on an extended trip with her child to travel to her relatives in the nation of Turkey.

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

However when investigators entered the victim's residence, her mobile phone was located.

A witness also claimed hearing a loud noise in the flat, and cries of "mama" on the date the mother and child were believed to have vanished.

An expanded official inquiry was launched, with investigators discovering several texts sent from the mother's device—including a job termination message to her workplace and messages to the 55-year-old suspect.

Officials confirmed a four-figure sum was also sent to the man.

Katja Tersch told media representatives on that day that a storage unit had been rented out before the vanishing and a freezer had been installed within.

The male siblings took out the cooling unit from the unit on the day the mother and daughter went missing, Tersch revealed. And a seven days after, they acquired a second unit.

Investigators say they believe this indicates the deaths were premeditated.

"How they died could not be determined due to the condition of the bodies," the official commented.

The prosecutor's spokesman—from the legal authorities—stated the precise timeline is still unclear, but the victims were expertly concealed and were not found during a earlier inspection.

Although the brothers were arrested in the summer, it was only on November 12 that the elder brother admitted to an incident and to storing the victims. He disputes any intent to kill, officials stated.

In a related development, his younger brother admitted to a concealment but disputed knowledge of a murder.

The pair are at this time in pre-trial detention in detention centers in two Austrian cities, situated at a distance.

Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and the top legal representative said the "reported homicide of mother and child... symbolizes the sudden and brutal end of two human lives and reveals a heartless setup".

"Women and girls are being killed due to the simple reality that they are of the female gender," they continued.

"Murders of women are a strongly established and widespread concern that we must address decisively."