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The remains of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been located inside freezers in an residence in the western part of Austria.

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been missing for a number of months, were uncovered on the end of last week. The freezers were placed behind a false wall in the apartment, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

Two individuals, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were taken into custody in the month of June. The older man, a colleague of the Syrian woman, told authorities last week that there had been an accident—but denied homicide.

Addressing journalists recently, a spokesman for the legal authorities announced the two suspects were being detained on "high likelihood of homicide".

The names of those involved have not been disclosed by police, in compliance with local legislation.

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

Investigators stated the woman's colleague informed them at the time she had gone on an prolonged visit with her child to travel to her relatives in Turkey.

Her bank card was then discovered to be utilized in foreign locations several times.

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

A witness also reported overhearing a loud noise in the flat, and screams of "mum" on the date the mother and child were thought to have disappeared.

A broader official inquiry was initiated, with authorities discovering several texts sent from the victim's mobile—including a resignation letter to her workplace and texts to the 55-year-old suspect.

Authorities confirmed a significant cash transfer was also sent to the individual.

Katja Tersch informed reporters on that day that a storage unit had been rented out before the vanishing and a cooling unit had been placed there.

The two suspects extracted the appliance from the storage space on the date the victims disappeared, she stated. And a shortly afterward, they acquired an additional appliance.

Authorities say they think this points to the demise were premeditated.

"How they died was not identifiable due to the advanced decay of the bodies," the official stated.

Mayr—representing the state—said the precise timeline is yet to be determined, but the victims were carefully placed and were not found during a prior examination.

Although the brothers were taken into custody in the summer, it was only on November 12 that the 55-year-old confessed to an incident and to hiding the bodies. He disputes any murderous intent, investigators said.

At the same time, his 53-year-old sibling admitted to a attempt to hide evidence but rejected involvement in a homicide.

The pair are currently in pre-trial detention in prisons 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 declared the "suspected killing of two... constitutes the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and reveals a brutal scheme".

"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 fight resolutely."