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The deceased of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been found inside freezers in an residence in western Austria.

The victims, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were detected on the end of last week. The cooling units were hidden behind a drywall partition in the apartment, situated in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in June. The elder brother, a work associate of the Syrian woman, stated to police last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but denied murder.

Addressing the media previously, a representative for the legal authorities said the pair were being held on "serious suspicion of intentional killing".

The names of those concerned have not been disclosed by authorities, in accordance with local legislation.

Their going missing was first reported by the cousin of the mother, who lives in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

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

The victim's bank card was then found to have been used in foreign locations repeatedly.

Yet when officers examined the woman's home, her cellphone was found.

A witness also reported hearing a commotion in the apartment, and cries of "mother" on the date the two were presumed to have gone missing.

An expanded criminal probe was started, with investigators finding multiple communications sent from the mother's device—including a resignation letter to her company and messages to the male colleague.

Officials confirmed a amount in the thousands was also sent to the suspect.

A senior police official told the press on Tuesday that a rented space had been rented out before the mother and child went missing and a cooling unit had been positioned inside.

The brothers removed the cooling unit from the unit on the very day the woman and her child vanished, she said. And a seven days after, they obtained another freezer.

Authorities say they think this suggests the deaths were premeditated.

"How they died could not be determined due to the state of decomposition of the bodies," the official said.

Mayr—of the public prosecutor's office—stated the precise timeline is still unclear, but the victims were expertly concealed and went unnoticed during a earlier inspection.

Although the men were arrested in June, it was not until November 12 that the 55-year-old confessed to an event and to hiding the bodies. He rejects any murderous intent, investigators confirmed.

At the same time, his brother admitted to a attempt to hide evidence but rejected knowledge of a homicide.

The brothers are at this time in custody awaiting trial in detention centers in Innsbruck and Salzburg, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Via a shared communication, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister declared the "alleged double murder... represents the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and exposes a brutal scheme".

"Women and girls are being killed due to the simple reality that they are of the female gender," they continued.

"Murders of women are a profoundly embedded and society-wide problem that we must address decisively."