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

The victims, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were uncovered on Friday. The freezers were concealed behind a plasterboard wall in the apartment, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

Two individuals, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were arrested in the month of June. The older man, a colleague of the Syrian woman, told authorities last week that there had been an accident—but denied intentional killing.

Informing journalists previously, a representative for the public prosecutor's office said the brothers were being held on "high likelihood of intentional killing".

Personal details of those implicated have not been released by authorities, in accordance 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 stated the male associate informed them at the time she had taken an prolonged visit with her daughter to travel to her relatives in the nation of Turkey.

The mother's debit card was then discovered to be utilized in foreign locations several times.

However when officers entered the victim's residence, her mobile phone was found.

An individual also reported listening to a loud noise in the apartment, and screams of "mother" on the date the two were believed to have vanished.

An expanded police investigation was initiated, with authorities finding several texts transmitted via the mother's device—among them a notice of quitting to her company and messages to the 55-year-old suspect.

Officials confirmed a four-figure sum was also sent to the man.

Katja Tersch stated to the press on recently that a storage unit had been rented out before the mother and child went missing and a freezer had been installed within.

The brothers removed the freezer from the facility on the date the woman and her child went missing, she stated. And a shortly afterward, they purchased an additional appliance.

Investigators state they consider this suggests the demise were planned in advance.

"How they died was not identifiable due to the state of decomposition of the victims," Tersch commented.

Mayr—representing the state—stated the specific order of occurrences is yet to be determined, but the remains were carefully placed and were not found during a earlier inspection.

Although the brothers were detained in the summer, it was only on the 12th of November that the suspect admitted to an event and to storing the victims. He rejects any murderous intent, officials confirmed.

Meanwhile, his brother confessed to a concealment but disputed involvement in a murder.

The pair are presently in pre-trial detention in jails in two Austrian cities, situated at a distance.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative stated the "alleged double murder... represents the abrupt and violent termination of two human lives and reveals a cruel system".

"Female individuals are being killed due to the simple reality that they are female," they continued.

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