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The remains of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 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 a number of months, were found on Friday. The freezers were concealed behind a false wall in the flat, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

Two men, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were arrested in June. The older man, a colleague of the female victim, informed law enforcement last week that there had been an accident—but disputed murder.

Informing journalists earlier, a official for the state prosecutor announced the two suspects were being kept in custody on "high likelihood of homicide".

The names of those concerned have not been disclosed by law enforcement, in accordance with Austrian law.

The family's disappearance was originally brought to light by the woman's cousin, who resides in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Investigators revealed the woman's colleague informed them at the time she had embarked on an extended trip with her daughter to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.

Her bank card was then found to have been used overseas several times.

Yet when police examined the victim's residence, her mobile phone was found.

Someone also claimed overhearing a disturbing sound in the apartment, and shouts of "mum" on the day the pair were presumed to have gone missing.

A broader official inquiry was initiated, with authorities finding several texts originating from the mother's device—such as a notice of quitting to her company and messages to the male associate.

Officials stated a four-figure sum was also sent to the individual.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office told reporters on Tuesday that a storage unit had been secured before the mother and child went missing and a freezer had been installed within.

The two suspects removed the freezer from the facility on the day the victims vanished, she revealed. And a seven days after, they acquired a second unit.

Officials say 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," Tersch said.

Mayr—from the legal authorities—said the specific order of occurrences is still unclear, but the remains were professionally hidden and not discovered during a previous house search.

Although the suspects were detained in June, it was not until the 12th of November that the elder brother confessed to an event and to storing the victims. He disputes any intent to kill, investigators stated.

Meanwhile, his brother acknowledged a concealment but disputed knowledge of a murder.

The brothers are presently in detention before court proceedings in detention centers in separate locations, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister said the "reported homicide of mother and child... constitutes the sudden and brutal end of two human lives and reveals a cruel system".

"Female individuals are being murdered due to the mere fact that they are female," they went on to say.

"Gender-based killings are a profoundly embedded and issue affecting all of society that we must address decisively."