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The bodies of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been located inside freezers in an apartment in the western part of Austria.

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

A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the Syrian woman, stated to police last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but rejected intentional killing.

Addressing reporters recently, a representative for the public prosecutor's office said the pair were being detained on "serious suspicion of homicide".

The identities of those concerned have been withheld by authorities, in following local legislation.

Their going missing was initially flagged by the woman's cousin, who lives in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Authorities revealed the male associate told them at the time she had embarked on an long journey with her child to visit her parents in Turkey.

The mother's debit card was then found to have been used overseas on multiple occasions.

However when investigators examined the mother's apartment, her smartphone was located.

An individual also reported overhearing a disturbing sound in the dwelling, and shouts of "mum" on the occasion the pair were thought to have disappeared.

A broader criminal probe was started, with investigators discovering multiple communications transmitted via the woman's phone—including a notice of quitting to her company and communications to the male colleague.

Officials said a significant cash transfer was also moved to the individual.

Katja Tersch informed the press on Tuesday that a storage unit had been rented out before the mother and child went missing and a cooling unit had been positioned inside.

The male siblings removed the cooling unit from the unit on the day the victims disappeared, she stated. And a week later, they purchased a second unit.

Officials say they believe this suggests the deaths were intentionally orchestrated.

"How they died remains unclear due to the condition of the victims," Tersch said.

Mayr—representing the state—stated the exact sequence of events is yet to be determined, but the victims were professionally hidden and went unnoticed during a earlier inspection.

While the suspects were detained in June, it was not until November 12 that the suspect acknowledged an event and to hiding the bodies. He denies any murderous intent, authorities confirmed.

In a related development, his younger brother admitted to a attempt to hide evidence but denied knowledge of a homicide.

The two suspects are currently in detention before court proceedings in prisons in Innsbruck and Salzburg, situated at a distance.

Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and the top legal representative stated the "suspected killing of two... represents the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and exposes a brutal scheme".

"Women and girls are being murdered due to the simple reality that they are women and girls," they continued.

"Murders of women are a strongly established and widespread concern that we must address decisively."