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The deceased of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been found inside freezing appliances in an apartment in western Austria.

The victims, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been missing for a number of months, were detected on the end of last week. The freezers were hidden behind a drywall partition in the apartment, situated in the Innsbruck area.

A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were detained in June. The older man, a work associate of the female victim, stated to law enforcement last week that there had been an accident—but rejected homicide.

Speaking to the media recently, a official for the state prosecutor stated the brothers were being held on "high likelihood of murder".

Personal details of those concerned have not been released by authorities, in accordance with Austrian law.

Their going missing was originally brought to light by the cousin of the mother, who is based in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Police revealed the woman's colleague claimed at the time she had embarked on an extended trip with her daughter to visit her parents in Turkey.

Her bank card was then discovered to be utilized overseas on multiple occasions.

However when investigators entered the woman's home, her mobile phone was discovered.

A witness also reported hearing a disturbing sound in the dwelling, and shouts of "mother" on the date the two were presumed to have gone missing.

An expanded official inquiry was started, with investigators discovering various messages originating from the mother's device—among them a job termination message to her workplace and messages to the male colleague.

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

Katja Tersch stated to reporters on that day that a rented space had been leased before the vanishing and a freezer had been placed there.

The male siblings took out the freezer from the facility on the date the victims vanished, the official said. And a shortly afterward, they purchased another freezer.

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

"The cause of death could not be determined due to the condition of the bodies," the official commented.

Mayr—representing the state—noted the specific order of occurrences is not yet known, but the victims were carefully placed and went unnoticed during a earlier inspection.

While the suspects were taken into custody in the summer, it was only on the 12th of November that the suspect confessed to an event and to storing the victims. He disputes any plan to cause death, authorities stated.

At the same time, his brother admitted to a cover-up but rejected knowledge of a murder.

The brothers are currently in pre-trial detention in prisons in Innsbruck and Salzburg, situated at a distance.

Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister said the "alleged double murder... represents the abrupt and violent termination of two human lives and uncovers a brutal scheme".

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

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