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

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been missing for several months, were detected on the end of last week. The cooling units were placed behind a drywall partition in the dwelling, located in the Innsbruck area.

Two men, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were taken into custody in the month of June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the female victim, stated to law enforcement last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but denied murder.

Speaking to journalists earlier, a spokesman for the legal authorities said the brothers were being kept in custody on "high likelihood of homicide".

Personal details of those concerned have been withheld by law enforcement, in accordance with Austrian law.

The family's disappearance was originally brought to light by the cousin of the mother, who is based in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Police revealed the woman's colleague told them at the time she had embarked on an long journey with her daughter to travel to her relatives in Turkey.

Her bank card was then noted as being active in foreign locations several times.

But when officers examined the woman's home, her smartphone was discovered.

A witness also claimed hearing a loud noise in the apartment, and cries of "mama" on the day the pair were believed to have vanished.

An expanded official inquiry was launched, with investigators finding multiple communications transmitted via the victim's mobile—including a resignation letter to her workplace and messages to the male associate.

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

The head of the State Criminal Police Office stated to media representatives on Tuesday that a storage facility had been leased before the mother and child went missing and a cooling unit had been positioned inside.

The brothers extracted the appliance from the unit on the day the mother and daughter disappeared, she revealed. And a shortly afterward, they purchased a second unit.

Officials say they believe this points to the demise were planned in advance.

"The reason for their demise could not be determined due to the condition of the bodies," the official commented.

A legal representative—of the public prosecutor's office—noted the specific order of occurrences is still unclear, but the remains were carefully placed and went unnoticed during a earlier inspection.

While the men were detained in June, it was only on November 12 that the suspect confessed to an event and to storing the victims. He rejects any intent to kill, investigators confirmed.

Meanwhile, his younger brother acknowledged a concealment but rejected awareness of a homicide.

The pair are at this time in detention before court proceedings in jails in separate locations, situated at a distance.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister declared the "suspected killing of two... represents the sudden and brutal end of a mother and child and reveals a brutal scheme".

"Women and girls are being killed due to the sole reason that they are women and girls," they added.

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