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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 western Austria.

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been missing for several months, were found on the end of last week. The cooling units were hidden behind a plasterboard wall in the flat, situated in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were detained in the month of June. The older man, a colleague of the female victim, informed law enforcement last week that there had been an incident—but denied homicide.

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

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

The vanishing of the mother and child was originally brought to light by the woman's cousin, who is based in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Investigators said the woman's colleague claimed at the time she had gone on an long journey with her daughter to travel to her relatives in the nation of Turkey.

The mother's debit card was then noted as being active abroad on multiple occasions.

But when investigators examined the woman's home, her mobile phone was discovered.

Someone also reported listening to a commotion in the flat, and screams of "mum" on the date the mother and child were thought to have disappeared.

A broader official inquiry was started, with investigators uncovering several texts originating from the mother's device—among them a resignation letter to her company and texts to the male associate.

Law enforcement stated a significant cash transfer was also transferred to the man.

Katja Tersch told reporters on Tuesday that a storage unit had been secured before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been installed within.

The male siblings removed the appliance from the storage space on the date the woman and her child went missing, she revealed. And a seven days after, they obtained another freezer.

Authorities state they consider this suggests the demise were planned in advance.

"The reason for their demise was not identifiable due to the state of decomposition of the bodies," Tersch said.

The prosecutor's spokesman—representing the state—stated the specific order of occurrences is not yet known, but the victims were expertly concealed and were not found during a prior examination.

While the suspects were arrested in June, it was only on the 12th of November that the elder brother acknowledged an occurrence and to concealing the remains. He denies any intent to kill, officials stated.

At the same time, his brother admitted to a concealment but rejected knowledge of a killing.

The pair are presently in pre-trial detention in detention centers in separate locations, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

In a joint statement, the nation's official for women's affairs and the top legal representative declared the "alleged double murder... symbolizes the abrupt and violent termination of two individuals and uncovers a brutal scheme".

"Female individuals are falling victim to homicide due to the simple reality that they are of the female gender," they continued.

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