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The remains of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been found inside freezers in an apartment in the western part of Austria.

The deceased, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been missing for a number of months, were detected on Friday. The freezers were placed behind a drywall partition in the apartment, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

Two men, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were arrested in the month of June. The 55-year-old, a work associate of the female victim, stated to police last week that there had been an accident—but rejected murder.

Informing reporters earlier, a spokesman for the state prosecutor stated the two suspects were being kept in custody on "strong suspicion of murder".

The identities of those involved have not been released by police, in compliance with national regulations.

The vanishing of the mother and child was first reported by the woman's cousin, who resides in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Police revealed the male associate informed them at the time she had taken an extended trip with her child to see her family in Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then noted as being active abroad several times.

Yet when investigators entered the woman's home, her cellphone was discovered.

Someone also reported listening to a loud noise in the apartment, and shouts of "mum" on the occasion the two were thought to have disappeared.

A broader criminal probe was initiated, with authorities uncovering multiple communications transmitted via the mother's device—such as a job termination message to her company and communications to the male colleague.

Authorities said a amount in the thousands was also transferred to the suspect.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office told media representatives on Tuesday that a storage unit had been rented out before the vanishing and a cooling unit had been placed there.

The two suspects took out the cooling unit from the storage space on the day the woman and her child vanished, Tersch said. And a seven days after, they obtained an additional appliance.

Officials say they think this points to the deaths were planned in advance.

"The cause of death remains unclear due to the condition of the victims," the official commented.

A legal representative—from the legal authorities—stated the precise timeline is yet to be determined, but the victims were professionally hidden and not discovered during a prior examination.

Although the suspects were arrested in June, it was not until November 12 that the 55-year-old acknowledged an occurrence and to concealing the remains. He disputes any intent to kill, authorities said.

Meanwhile, his brother confessed to a concealment but rejected involvement in a homicide.

The two suspects are at this time in pre-trial detention in detention centers in separate locations, situated at a distance.

Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister declared the "suspected killing of two... symbolizes the sudden and brutal end of a mother and child and uncovers a brutal scheme".

"Females of all ages are being killed due to the sole reason that they are of the female gender," they added.

"Murders of women are a strongly established and widespread concern that we must fight resolutely."