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The deceased of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been located inside freezing appliances in an residence in western Austria.

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been missing for several months, were found on Friday. The cooling units were placed behind a plasterboard wall in the flat, located in the Innsbruck area.

A pair of males, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were taken into custody in the month of June. The older man, a work associate of the female victim, told police last week that there had been an accident—but disputed homicide.

Speaking to the media earlier, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office stated the brothers were being held on "high likelihood of homicide".

The identities of those implicated have not been released by police, in compliance with Austrian law.

The vanishing of the mother and child was first reported by the female victim's relative, who lives in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

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

The victim's bank card was then noted as being active abroad on multiple occasions.

But when officers entered the woman's home, her cellphone was located.

A witness also stated hearing a loud noise in the dwelling, and screams of "mama" on the date the mother and child were thought to have disappeared.

An expanded police investigation was launched, with investigators finding multiple communications transmitted via the mother's device—among them a resignation letter to her workplace and communications to the male colleague.

Authorities stated a four-figure sum was also moved to the individual.

A senior police official stated to media representatives on that day that a rented space had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a freezing appliance had been installed within.

The two suspects removed the appliance from the unit on the very day the mother and daughter disappeared, she said. And a seven days after, they obtained another freezer.

Officials believe they consider this points to the fatalities were planned in advance.

"The cause of death was not identifiable due to the state of decomposition of the remains," the official said.

The prosecutor's spokesman—of the public prosecutor's office—noted the exact sequence of events is yet to be determined, but the bodies were professionally hidden and not discovered during a previous house search.

Although the men were arrested in June, it was only on the 12th of November that the 55-year-old admitted to an incident and to hiding the bodies. He denies any plan to cause death, officials confirmed.

At the same time, his 53-year-old sibling confessed to a cover-up but disputed knowledge of a homicide.

The pair are currently in custody awaiting trial in prisons in separate locations, situated at a distance.

Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and the top legal representative said the "suspected killing of two... constitutes the swift and cruel conclusion of two individuals and uncovers a heartless setup".

"Women and girls are being killed due to the mere fact that they are women and girls," they continued.

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