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The bodies of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been discovered inside freezers in an apartment in western Austria.

The victims, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were found on Friday. The freezers were hidden behind a false wall in the apartment, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were taken into custody in June. The elder brother, a work associate of the Syrian woman, told law enforcement last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but denied murder.

Speaking to reporters recently, a spokesman for the state prosecutor said the brothers were being kept in custody on "high likelihood of murder".

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

Their going missing was initially flagged by the woman's cousin, who lives in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Authorities said the 55-year-old suspect informed them at the time she had taken an prolonged visit with her daughter to travel to her relatives in the nation of Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then found to have been used overseas on multiple occasions.

However when police entered the woman's home, her mobile phone was found.

Someone also stated overhearing a commotion in the flat, and screams of "mother" on the occasion the pair were believed to have vanished.

An expanded official inquiry was launched, with investigators uncovering several texts transmitted via the woman's phone—including a notice of quitting to her workplace and messages to the male colleague.

Authorities stated a significant cash transfer was also moved to the man.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office stated to the press on Tuesday that a storage unit had been leased before the vanishing and a freezing appliance had been installed within.

The brothers removed the freezer from the storage space on the day the victims went missing, she revealed. And a shortly afterward, they acquired an additional appliance.

Authorities believe they think this indicates the fatalities were planned in advance.

"The reason for their demise could not be determined due to the state of decomposition of the remains," Tersch said.

Mayr—from the legal authorities—noted the exact sequence of events is not yet known, but the victims were carefully placed and not discovered during a previous house search.

While the men were taken into custody in June, it was only on 12 November that the 55-year-old confessed to an incident and to hiding the bodies. He disputes any intent to kill, investigators said.

In a related development, his 53-year-old sibling acknowledged a cover-up but rejected awareness of a homicide.

The brothers are at this time in custody awaiting trial in prisons in Innsbruck and Salzburg, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

In a joint statement, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative said the "reported homicide of mother and child... represents the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and reveals a heartless setup".

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

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