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The deceased of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been located inside freezing appliances in an apartment in western Austria.

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were detected on Friday. The freezers were hidden behind a plasterboard wall in the flat, located in the Innsbruck area.

A pair of males, 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 authorities last week that there had been an incident—but disputed intentional killing.

Informing reporters earlier, a representative for the legal authorities stated the pair were being held on "serious suspicion of murder".

Personal details of those involved have been withheld by police, in accordance with Austrian law.

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

Authorities said the 55-year-old suspect told them at the time she had taken an long journey with her daughter to travel to her relatives in Turkey.

Her bank card was then noted as being active overseas repeatedly.

But when investigators examined the mother's apartment, her mobile phone was located.

An individual also reported hearing a disturbing sound in the flat, and screams of "mother" on the occasion the pair were presumed to have gone missing.

An expanded official inquiry was started, with officers discovering several texts sent from the mother's device—among them a job termination message to her employer and communications to the male associate.

Authorities confirmed a amount in the thousands was also moved to the man.

Katja Tersch told the press on Tuesday that a storage facility had been leased before the mother and child went missing and a freezing appliance had been installed within.

The male siblings extracted the freezer from the facility on the date the victims vanished, Tersch said. And a shortly afterward, they obtained another freezer.

Officials say they consider this suggests the fatalities were premeditated.

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

Mayr—of the public prosecutor's office—stated the exact sequence of events is still unclear, but the bodies were carefully placed and were not found during a previous house search.

Although the men were arrested in the summer, it was only on the 12th of November that the elder brother acknowledged an event and to concealing the remains. He rejects any intent to kill, investigators confirmed.

At the same time, his younger brother acknowledged a attempt to hide evidence but rejected knowledge of a killing.

The two suspects are currently in custody awaiting trial in jails in separate locations, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

Via a shared communication, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister stated the "suspected killing of two... symbolizes the sudden and brutal end of a mother and child and uncovers 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 deeply rooted and issue affecting all of society that we must fight resolutely."