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

The victims, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were found on Friday. The cooling units were concealed behind a plasterboard wall in the flat, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

A pair of males, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in the month of June. The elder brother, a work associate of the female victim, informed authorities last week that there had been an accident—but rejected homicide.

Addressing journalists recently, a spokesman for the legal authorities stated the two suspects were being kept in custody on "strong suspicion of murder".

Personal details of those implicated have not been released by law enforcement, in compliance with local legislation.

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

Police revealed the 55-year-old suspect claimed at the time she had gone on an extended trip with her child to visit her parents in Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then noted as being active overseas on multiple occasions.

Yet when police entered the victim's residence, her mobile phone was discovered.

Someone also stated hearing a commotion in the apartment, and shouts of "mama" on the day the mother and child were presumed to have gone missing.

An expanded official inquiry was initiated, with authorities discovering multiple communications originating from the victim's mobile—such as a job termination message to her employer and texts to the male colleague.

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

Katja Tersch informed reporters on that day that a storage unit had been secured before the victims' disappearance and a freezing appliance had been positioned inside.

The two suspects extracted the freezer from the storage space on the very day the woman and her child vanished, Tersch stated. And a shortly afterward, they purchased another freezer.

Officials say they consider this suggests the deaths were planned in advance.

"How they died remains unclear due to the advanced decay of the remains," she stated.

The prosecutor's spokesman—of the public prosecutor's office—stated the exact sequence of events is yet to be determined, but the victims were carefully placed and were not found during a prior examination.

While the suspects were detained in the summer, it was only on the 12th of November that the suspect acknowledged an event and to hiding the bodies. He disputes any intent to kill, investigators said.

In a related development, his brother confessed to a attempt to hide evidence but rejected involvement in a homicide.

The brothers are presently in detention before court proceedings in jails in two Austrian cities, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

In a joint statement, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative stated the "suspected killing of two... constitutes the abrupt and violent termination of two individuals and uncovers a heartless setup".

"Females of all ages are being killed due to the simple reality that they are female," they added.

"Femicides are a strongly established and society-wide problem that we must address decisively."