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

The victims, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been missing for a number of months, were found on the end of last week. The freezers were hidden behind a plasterboard wall in the apartment, located in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were arrested in the month of June. The older man, a work associate of the Syrian woman, stated to authorities last week that there had been an incident—but denied homicide.

Addressing journalists earlier, a spokesman for the state prosecutor stated the two suspects were being held on "serious suspicion of intentional killing".

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

Their going missing was first reported by the female victim's relative, who is based in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Authorities said the woman's colleague claimed at the time she had embarked on an extended trip with her child to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.

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

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

A witness also claimed hearing a commotion in the apartment, and screams of "mum" on the date the two were presumed to have gone missing.

A wider police investigation was launched, with officers discovering various messages sent from the victim's mobile—including a job termination message to her company and texts to the male colleague.

Law enforcement confirmed a amount in the thousands was also sent to the man.

Katja Tersch stated to the press on Tuesday that a storage facility had been secured before the vanishing and a freezing appliance had been installed within.

The brothers extracted the appliance from the unit on the day the woman and her child went missing, she stated. And a week later, they acquired a second unit.

Authorities state they think this suggests the fatalities were premeditated.

"The cause of death remains unclear due to the state of decomposition of the remains," the official said.

A legal representative—of the public prosecutor's office—said the precise timeline is not yet known, but the remains were carefully placed and went unnoticed during a previous house search.

Although the suspects were arrested in June, it was only on the 12th of November that the 55-year-old admitted to an event and to hiding the bodies. He denies any intent to kill, authorities stated.

At the same time, his 53-year-old sibling admitted to a concealment but denied knowledge of a homicide.

The two suspects are presently in pre-trial detention in detention centers in two Austrian cities, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Via a shared communication, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative declared the "alleged double murder... symbolizes the abrupt and violent termination of two human lives and uncovers a heartless setup".

"Female individuals are falling victim to homicide due to the mere fact that they are women and girls," they added.

"Gender-based killings are a strongly established and widespread concern that we must combat firmly."