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The remains of a mother aged 34 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 several months, were detected on Friday. The cooling units were concealed behind a drywall partition in the apartment, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

Two men, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were detained in June. The elder brother, a colleague of the Syrian woman, informed police last week that there had been an accident—but rejected homicide.

Addressing reporters recently, a representative for the public prosecutor's office said the brothers were being held on "high likelihood of homicide".

The names of those concerned have been withheld by police, in compliance with Austrian law.

The vanishing of the mother and child was first reported by the cousin of the mother, who is based in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Investigators revealed the woman's colleague informed them at the time she had taken an extended trip with her child to visit her parents in Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then found to have been used abroad several times.

Yet when officers searched the woman's home, her cellphone was found.

An individual also stated listening to a loud noise in the flat, and cries of "mum" on the date the two were thought to have disappeared.

A wider official inquiry was initiated, with investigators discovering several texts transmitted via the mother's device—among them a notice of quitting to her employer and texts to the male colleague.

Officials confirmed a significant cash transfer was also moved to the man.

A senior police official informed the press on recently that a rented space had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been placed there.

The male siblings removed the freezer from the storage space on the day the woman and her child disappeared, she said. And a week later, they acquired another freezer.

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

"The reason for their demise remains unclear due to the condition of the victims," she commented.

A legal representative—representing the state—noted the specific order of occurrences is still unclear, but the victims were expertly concealed and were not found during a previous house search.

Although the brothers were taken into custody in June, it was only on the 12th of November that the 55-year-old confessed to an incident and to concealing the remains. He denies any intent to kill, officials said.

Meanwhile, his brother acknowledged a attempt to hide evidence but disputed awareness of a homicide.

The brothers are at this time in detention before court proceedings in jails in separate locations, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister declared the "suspected killing of two... symbolizes the swift and cruel conclusion of two individuals and exposes a heartless setup".

"Females of all ages are being murdered due to the sole reason that they are female," they went on to say.

"Murders of women are a deeply rooted and issue affecting all of society that we must combat firmly."