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The remains of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been discovered inside freezing appliances in an apartment in the western part of Austria.

The victims, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were found on Friday. The freezers were concealed behind a plasterboard wall in the dwelling, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

Two men, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were taken into custody in June. The elder brother, a work associate of the Syrian woman, stated to law enforcement last week that there had been an incident—but rejected murder.

Informing the media earlier, a representative for the public prosecutor's office said the pair were being detained on "high likelihood of murder".

Personal details of those implicated have not been disclosed by police, in accordance with national regulations.

The vanishing of the mother and child was originally brought to light by the female victim's relative, who lives in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Police stated the 55-year-old suspect informed them at the time she had gone on an long journey with her child to visit her parents in Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then noted as being active abroad repeatedly.

However when investigators entered the woman's home, her cellphone was discovered.

A witness also reported hearing a loud noise in the flat, and cries of "mama" on the day the two were thought to have disappeared.

A wider official inquiry was launched, with investigators uncovering various messages originating from the victim's mobile—such as a notice of quitting to her workplace and communications to the male associate.

Officials confirmed a amount in the thousands was also transferred to the man.

Katja Tersch told reporters on Tuesday that a storage unit had been rented out before the vanishing and a freezing appliance had been positioned inside.

The two suspects removed the cooling unit from the facility on the very day the victims vanished, Tersch stated. And a week later, they purchased a second unit.

Officials say they believe this indicates the deaths were planned in advance.

"How they died was not identifiable due to the advanced decay of the remains," she said.

The prosecutor's spokesman—from the legal authorities—said the exact sequence of events is still unclear, but the victims were carefully placed and not discovered during a previous house search.

While the men were detained in June, it was not until 12 November that the 55-year-old confessed to an occurrence and to storing the victims. He rejects any intent to kill, investigators stated.

In a related development, his 53-year-old sibling acknowledged a cover-up but disputed awareness of a killing.

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

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister said the "suspected killing of two... symbolizes the sudden and brutal end of a mother and child and reveals a cruel system".

"Females of all ages are being killed due to the simple reality that they are women and girls," they went on to say.

"Gender-based killings are a deeply rooted and widespread concern that we must address decisively."