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The bodies of a 34-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter have been located inside freezers in an residence in western Austria.

The deceased, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been missing for a number of months, were detected on the end of last week. The cooling units were concealed behind a false wall in the dwelling, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

Two individuals, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were taken into custody in June. The elder brother, a work associate of the female victim, told police last week that there had been an incident—but rejected homicide.

Addressing journalists previously, a official for the public prosecutor's office announced the pair were being held on "strong suspicion of intentional killing".

The identities of those implicated have not been released by authorities, in compliance with local legislation.

The vanishing of the mother and child was initially flagged by the female victim's relative, who is based in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Investigators said the 55-year-old suspect claimed at the time she had taken an long journey with her child to see her family in Turkey.

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

However when investigators entered the mother's apartment, her smartphone was discovered.

A witness also stated hearing a commotion in the flat, and screams of "mum" on the occasion the two were presumed to have gone missing.

A broader police investigation was initiated, with investigators finding several texts originating from the victim's mobile—such as a notice of quitting to her company and messages to the 55-year-old suspect.

Authorities confirmed a amount in the thousands was also moved to the individual.

Katja Tersch told reporters on recently that a storage facility had been leased before the mother and child went missing and a freezing appliance had been installed within.

The male siblings extracted the appliance from the storage space on the date the victims vanished, the official said. And a shortly afterward, they obtained an additional appliance.

Officials believe they consider this points to the fatalities were intentionally orchestrated.

"The reason for their demise was not identifiable due to the advanced decay of the victims," Tersch stated.

Mayr—of the public prosecutor's office—noted the specific order of occurrences is yet to be determined, but the bodies were expertly concealed and not discovered during a previous house search.

While the men were taken into custody in June, it was not until 12 November that the suspect admitted to an occurrence and to storing the victims. He disputes any murderous intent, investigators said.

At the same time, his younger brother acknowledged a cover-up but rejected involvement in a homicide.

The pair are presently in pre-trial detention in jails in two Austrian cities, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

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

"Women and girls are being murdered due to the simple reality that they are of the female gender," they went on to say.

"Gender-based killings are a profoundly embedded and society-wide problem that we must address decisively."