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

The victims, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were detected on Friday. The cooling units were concealed behind a drywall partition in the apartment, located in the city of Innsbruck.

Two individuals, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were detained in June. The elder brother, a work associate of the female victim, stated to law enforcement last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but denied homicide.

Speaking to the media recently, a spokesman for the state prosecutor announced the brothers were being held on "strong suspicion of intentional killing".

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

The vanishing of the mother and child was first reported by the cousin of the mother, who resides in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Investigators stated the 55-year-old suspect claimed at the time she had taken an long journey with her child to travel to her relatives in the nation of Turkey.

The mother's debit card was then discovered to be utilized abroad repeatedly.

But when police examined the victim's residence, her smartphone was found.

An individual also reported overhearing a disturbing sound in the dwelling, and cries of "mama" on the occasion the two were presumed to have gone missing.

A wider official inquiry was started, with authorities finding various messages sent from the mother's device—including a job termination message to her company and communications to the male associate.

Authorities said a amount in the thousands was also transferred to the individual.

A senior police official informed media representatives on that day that a storage unit had been leased before the vanishing and a freezer had been placed there.

The brothers extracted the appliance from the storage space on the very day the woman and her child went missing, the official said. And a week later, they acquired another freezer.

Investigators believe they consider this suggests the fatalities were intentionally orchestrated.

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

The prosecutor's spokesman—representing the state—noted the exact sequence of events is yet to be determined, but the victims were professionally hidden and went unnoticed during a previous house search.

While the brothers were arrested in the summer, it was only on 12 November that the elder brother admitted to an event and to concealing the remains. He disputes any intent to kill, investigators stated.

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

The pair are at this time in pre-trial detention in jails in two Austrian cities, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and the top legal representative declared the "suspected killing of two... symbolizes the swift and cruel conclusion of two human lives and uncovers a cruel system".

"Women and girls are being killed due to the mere fact that they are female," they went on to say.

"Murders of women are a deeply rooted and widespread concern that we must combat firmly."