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

The victims, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been missing for several months, were uncovered on the end of last week. The cooling units were placed behind a drywall partition in the dwelling, located in the Innsbruck area.

Two men, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were taken into custody in June. The older man, a work associate of the Syrian woman, told police last week that there had been an incident—but rejected intentional killing.

Addressing the media recently, a official for the state prosecutor announced the pair were being held on "high likelihood of intentional killing".

The identities of those involved have not been released by police, in following Austrian law.

The vanishing of the mother and child was first reported by the female victim's relative, who lives in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Investigators said the 55-year-old suspect told them at the time she had gone on an extended trip with her child to visit her parents in Turkey.

Her bank card was then found to have been used abroad repeatedly.

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

A witness also reported overhearing a disturbing sound in the apartment, and screams of "mum" on the occasion the mother and child were believed to have vanished.

A wider criminal probe was started, with officers discovering several texts transmitted via the victim's mobile—such as a notice of quitting to her employer and communications to the male associate.

Officials stated a four-figure sum was also sent to the man.

A senior police official stated to reporters on Tuesday that a storage facility had been secured before the mother and child went missing and a freezer had been positioned inside.

The male siblings extracted the appliance from the facility on the very day the woman and her child disappeared, Tersch stated. And a shortly afterward, they obtained another freezer.

Investigators state they think this points to the demise were planned in advance.

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

Mayr—from the legal authorities—noted the specific order of occurrences is still unclear, but the bodies were expertly concealed and went unnoticed during a prior examination.

Although the brothers were arrested in June, it was only on 12 November that the elder brother acknowledged an event and to storing the victims. He rejects any plan to cause death, investigators stated.

At the same time, his younger brother admitted to a concealment but rejected awareness of a murder.

The pair are presently in custody awaiting trial in prisons in separate locations, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister stated the "suspected killing of two... symbolizes the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and exposes a heartless setup".

"Women and girls are falling victim to homicide due to the simple reality that they are of the female gender," they continued.

"Gender-based killings are a strongly established and society-wide problem that we must combat firmly."