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The deceased of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been found inside freezing appliances in an apartment in the western part of Austria.

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been missing for several months, were found on the end of last week. The cooling units were hidden behind a false wall in the flat, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

Two men, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were detained in the month of June. The older man, a colleague of the Syrian woman, informed authorities last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but rejected murder.

Informing reporters recently, a official for the state prosecutor stated the brothers were being held on "serious suspicion of murder".

Personal details of those involved have been withheld by authorities, in following Austrian law.

The family's disappearance was initially flagged by the cousin of the mother, who lives in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Authorities revealed the 55-year-old suspect informed them at the time she had gone on an long journey with her child to see her family in Turkey.

The mother's debit card was then noted as being active abroad several times.

Yet when investigators examined the woman's home, her smartphone was discovered.

An individual also reported overhearing a loud noise in the flat, and shouts of "mama" on the day the pair were thought to have disappeared.

A wider official inquiry was launched, with investigators uncovering multiple communications transmitted via the woman's phone—including a job termination message to her employer and communications to the male colleague.

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

A senior police official told the press on that day that a storage unit had been rented out before the mother and child went missing and a freezing appliance had been placed there.

The male siblings extracted the appliance from the unit on the day the mother and daughter vanished, Tersch stated. And a seven days after, they acquired an additional appliance.

Investigators believe they think this points to the demise were intentionally orchestrated.

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

The prosecutor's spokesman—of the public prosecutor's office—stated the precise timeline is not yet known, but the remains were professionally hidden and were not found during a prior examination.

While the suspects were detained in June, it was not until 12 November that the 55-year-old confessed to an event and to storing the victims. He denies any plan to cause death, investigators said.

At the same time, his younger brother admitted to a concealment but rejected involvement in a killing.

The pair are presently in detention before court proceedings in jails in separate locations, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Via a shared communication, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister declared the "reported homicide of mother and child... represents the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and reveals a cruel system".

"Females of all ages are being killed due to the simple reality that they are women and girls," they continued.

"Gender-based killings are a strongly established and issue affecting all of society that we must fight resolutely."