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The bodies of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been located inside freezers in an apartment in western Austria.

The deceased, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were detected on Friday. The freezers were placed behind a drywall partition in the flat, situated in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in June. The older man, a work associate of the Syrian woman, stated to law enforcement last week that there had been an accident—but disputed homicide.

Informing journalists previously, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office announced the pair were being detained on "strong suspicion of murder".

The names of those implicated have been withheld by police, in compliance with Austrian law.

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

Police revealed the male associate informed them at the time she had embarked on an prolonged visit with her child to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.

Her bank card was then found to have been used abroad on multiple occasions.

But when police examined the victim's residence, her smartphone was discovered.

An individual also reported listening to a commotion in the dwelling, and screams of "mother" on the occasion the pair were thought to have disappeared.

A broader official inquiry was started, with investigators finding several texts originating from the victim's mobile—including a notice of quitting to her workplace and texts to the male associate.

Authorities confirmed a four-figure sum was also sent to the individual.

Katja Tersch told reporters on that day that a storage unit had been secured before the mother and child went missing and a cooling unit had been positioned inside.

The male siblings took out the appliance from the storage space on the date the mother and daughter vanished, she stated. And a seven days after, they obtained an additional appliance.

Authorities believe they believe this points to the fatalities were intentionally orchestrated.

"How they died remains unclear due to the advanced decay of the victims," she commented.

The prosecutor's spokesman—from the legal authorities—said the specific order of occurrences is still unclear, but the bodies were professionally hidden and went unnoticed during a earlier inspection.

While the brothers were detained in the summer, it was not until the 12th of November that the suspect admitted to an occurrence and to concealing the remains. He disputes any plan to cause death, authorities confirmed.

Meanwhile, his brother admitted to a concealment but denied awareness of a homicide.

The two suspects are currently in detention before court proceedings in jails in Innsbruck and Salzburg, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Via a shared communication, the nation's official for women's affairs and the top legal representative stated the "alleged double murder... symbolizes the abrupt and violent termination of two human lives and reveals a brutal scheme".

"Females of all ages are being murdered due to the sole reason that they are women and girls," they added.

"Femicides are a deeply rooted and society-wide problem that we must combat firmly."