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

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been missing for several months, were detected on Friday. The freezers were placed behind a plasterboard wall in the flat, located in the city of Innsbruck.

Two individuals, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in the month of June. The older man, a work associate of the Syrian woman, told law enforcement last week that there had been an accident—but denied intentional killing.

Informing journalists previously, a official for the public prosecutor's office announced the pair were being detained on "serious suspicion of intentional killing".

The names of those involved have been withheld by authorities, in accordance with Austrian law.

The family's disappearance was originally brought to light by the woman's cousin, who lives in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Authorities stated the 55-year-old suspect claimed at the time she had taken an long journey with her child to visit her parents in Turkey.

Her bank card was then found to have been used abroad on multiple occasions.

But when officers searched the victim's residence, her cellphone was discovered.

Someone also claimed hearing a disturbing sound in the flat, and shouts of "mama" on the day the pair were believed to have vanished.

An expanded criminal probe was initiated, with officers finding multiple communications transmitted via the woman's phone—including a job termination message to her employer and communications to the male associate.

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

The head of the State Criminal Police Office stated to media representatives on Tuesday that a storage facility had been secured before the vanishing and a freezing appliance had been placed there.

The male siblings removed the appliance from the unit on the day the victims disappeared, she revealed. And a seven days after, they obtained another freezer.

Officials state they believe this indicates the deaths were premeditated.

"How they died was not identifiable due to the state of decomposition of the bodies," Tersch commented.

Mayr—from the legal authorities—said the exact sequence of events is still unclear, but the remains were carefully placed and not discovered during a previous house search.

Although the brothers were taken into custody in June, it was only on the 12th of November that the elder brother confessed to an event and to concealing the remains. He disputes any intent to kill, authorities confirmed.

In a related development, his younger brother acknowledged a attempt to hide evidence but denied awareness of a murder.

The two suspects are at this time in detention before court proceedings in prisons in Innsbruck and Salzburg, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative said the "suspected killing of two... constitutes the abrupt and violent termination of two individuals and uncovers a cruel system".

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

"Gender-based killings are a deeply rooted and society-wide problem that we must combat firmly."