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

The victims, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were uncovered on Friday. The cooling units were placed behind a plasterboard wall in the flat, situated in the Innsbruck area.

A pair of males, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were taken into custody in the month of June. The older man, a work associate of the female victim, told authorities last week that there had been an accident—but denied intentional killing.

Speaking to the media previously, a representative for the public prosecutor's office said the pair were being detained on "serious suspicion of murder".

Personal details of those involved have not been released by authorities, in accordance with local legislation.

The family's disappearance was initially flagged by the woman's cousin, who resides in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Police revealed the woman's colleague informed them at the time she had taken an long journey with her daughter to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.

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

Yet when police entered the mother's apartment, her cellphone was located.

An individual also stated listening to a commotion in the flat, and cries of "mum" on the day the mother and child were believed to have vanished.

A wider official inquiry was started, with officers finding several texts sent from the victim's mobile—such as a notice of quitting to her workplace and texts to the 55-year-old suspect.

Law enforcement confirmed a four-figure sum was also moved to the individual.

A senior police official stated to the press on recently that a rented space had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a cooling unit had been installed within.

The two suspects took out the cooling unit from the unit on the day the victims disappeared, the official stated. And a seven days after, they obtained an additional appliance.

Officials say they consider this indicates the demise were planned in advance.

"How they died was not identifiable due to the advanced decay of the remains," she stated.

The prosecutor's spokesman—from the legal authorities—noted the exact sequence of events is still unclear, but the bodies were expertly concealed and not discovered during a previous house search.

Although the brothers were arrested in the summer, it was not until November 12 that the 55-year-old acknowledged an occurrence and to storing the victims. He rejects any murderous intent, officials stated.

At the same time, his 53-year-old sibling admitted to a concealment but denied knowledge of a killing.

The two suspects are presently in custody awaiting trial in detention centers in Innsbruck and Salzburg, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative stated the "alleged double murder... constitutes the abrupt and violent termination of two individuals and uncovers a brutal scheme".

"Female individuals are falling victim to homicide due to the mere fact that they are of the female gender," they continued.

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