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

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been missing for a number of months, were found on the end of last week. The cooling units were concealed behind a drywall partition in the apartment, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in the month of June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the Syrian woman, told law enforcement last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but denied homicide.

Informing reporters recently, a representative for the public prosecutor's office stated the pair were being detained on "strong suspicion of murder".

The names of those implicated have been withheld by law enforcement, in compliance with national regulations.

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

Investigators stated the male associate told them at the time she had embarked on an prolonged visit with her child to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then found to have been used abroad on multiple occasions.

However when investigators examined the victim's residence, her smartphone was found.

Someone also reported listening to a loud noise in the flat, and shouts of "mother" on the date the pair were thought to have disappeared.

A broader criminal probe was initiated, with investigators uncovering multiple communications originating from the victim's mobile—such as a notice of quitting to her workplace and texts to the 55-year-old suspect.

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

The head of the State Criminal Police Office told the press on Tuesday that a storage unit had been rented out before the victims' disappearance and a cooling unit had been placed there.

The brothers took out the freezer from the unit on the date the woman and her child vanished, the official stated. And a seven days after, they obtained a second unit.

Investigators state they consider this points to the fatalities were planned in advance.

"The reason for their demise remains unclear due to the condition of the bodies," Tersch commented.

Mayr—of the public prosecutor's office—noted the specific order of occurrences is not yet known, but the bodies were expertly concealed and not discovered during a prior examination.

Although the men were detained in June, it was only on the 12th of November that the elder brother confessed to an event and to hiding the bodies. He rejects any murderous intent, authorities confirmed.

Meanwhile, his younger brother admitted to a cover-up but denied awareness of a murder.

The pair are at this time in custody awaiting trial in jails in Innsbruck and Salzburg, situated at a distance.

In a joint statement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister said the "suspected killing of two... represents the abrupt and violent termination of two human lives and uncovers a brutal scheme".

"Women and girls are being killed due to the sole reason that they are women and girls," they added.

"Femicides are a strongly established and society-wide problem that we must address decisively."