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

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were detected on the end of last week. The cooling units were hidden behind a false wall in the dwelling, situated in the Innsbruck area.

A pair of males, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were taken into custody in June. The older man, a colleague of the Syrian woman, stated to authorities last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but disputed intentional killing.

Speaking to reporters previously, a representative for the public prosecutor's office said the two suspects were being detained on "high likelihood of homicide".

The names of those implicated have not been disclosed by police, in following national regulations.

The vanishing of the mother and child was originally brought to light by the cousin of the mother, who resides in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Authorities revealed the woman's colleague told them at the time she had taken an prolonged visit with her child to travel to her relatives in the nation of Turkey.

Her bank card was then found to have been used overseas several times.

Yet when officers entered the mother's apartment, her cellphone was found.

Someone also stated overhearing a disturbing sound in the apartment, and shouts of "mother" on the date the two were presumed to have gone missing.

A wider official inquiry was initiated, with investigators discovering multiple communications originating from the victim's mobile—including a resignation letter to her workplace and texts to the male associate.

Officials stated a significant cash transfer was also moved to the individual.

Katja Tersch told media representatives on Tuesday that a storage unit had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been positioned inside.

The two suspects extracted the freezer from the storage space on the day the woman and her child went missing, the official said. And a shortly afterward, they purchased a second unit.

Officials state they believe this suggests the fatalities were planned in advance.

"The cause of death was not identifiable due to the advanced decay of the victims," the official said.

Mayr—from the legal authorities—said the precise timeline is still unclear, but the remains were professionally hidden and went unnoticed during a earlier inspection.

While the suspects were arrested in the summer, it was not until November 12 that the elder brother confessed to an event and to hiding the bodies. He disputes any intent to kill, officials stated.

At the same time, his younger brother acknowledged a cover-up but disputed awareness of a homicide.

The pair are presently in custody awaiting trial in detention centers in separate locations, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

In a joint statement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister said the "reported homicide of mother and child... symbolizes the sudden and brutal end of two individuals and uncovers a brutal scheme".

"Women and girls are being murdered due to the mere fact that they are of the female gender," they continued.

"Gender-based killings are a strongly established and widespread concern that we must combat firmly."