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The bodies of a 34-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter have been located inside freezers in an apartment in western Austria.

The victims, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were detected on the end of last week. The cooling units were hidden behind a drywall partition in the apartment, located in the city of Innsbruck.

Two men, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were arrested in the month of June. The 55-year-old, a work associate of the Syrian woman, informed authorities last week that there had been an accident—but rejected homicide.

Addressing the media recently, a representative for the state prosecutor stated the pair were being kept in custody on "high likelihood of homicide".

The names of those implicated have been withheld by law enforcement, in compliance with local legislation.

Their going missing was originally brought to light by the female victim's relative, who is based in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

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

Her bank card was then discovered to be utilized overseas repeatedly.

Yet when officers entered the victim's residence, her mobile phone was located.

A witness also stated hearing a disturbing sound in the apartment, and shouts of "mama" on the day the pair were presumed to have gone missing.

A broader criminal probe was started, with officers uncovering several texts originating from the woman's phone—such as a notice of quitting to her company and communications to the male colleague.

Authorities confirmed a amount in the thousands was also sent to the man.

A senior police official stated to reporters on recently that a rented space had been secured before the victims' disappearance and a freezing appliance had been installed within.

The brothers took out the cooling unit from the unit on the date the woman and her child disappeared, Tersch revealed. And a week later, they acquired an additional appliance.

Investigators state they believe this indicates the fatalities were planned in advance.

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

A legal representative—representing the state—said the exact sequence of events is not yet known, but the remains were expertly concealed and were not found during a previous house search.

While the brothers were detained in June, it was only on the 12th of November that the elder brother confessed to an occurrence and to storing the victims. He disputes any murderous intent, officials said.

At the same time, his brother confessed to a cover-up but denied awareness of a murder.

The pair are at this time in detention before court proceedings in jails in separate locations, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative said the "alleged double murder... represents the swift and cruel conclusion of two human lives and reveals a brutal scheme".

"Women and girls are being murdered due to the simple reality that they are female," they continued.

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