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The bodies of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been discovered inside freezing appliances in an flat in western Austria.

The victims, a woman from Syria and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were uncovered on the end of last week. The freezers were concealed behind a drywall partition in the flat, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

Two men, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were taken into custody in June. The 55-year-old, a work associate of the Syrian woman, informed law enforcement last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but disputed intentional killing.

Speaking to the media previously, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office said the brothers were being detained on "high likelihood of murder".

The names of those implicated have not been disclosed by law enforcement, in accordance with national regulations.

The vanishing of the mother and child was first reported by the cousin of the mother, who resides in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Investigators said the male associate told them at the time she had gone on an prolonged visit with her child to see her family in Turkey.

The mother's debit card was then found to have been used abroad on multiple occasions.

But when police searched the mother's apartment, her cellphone was discovered.

Someone also stated overhearing a disturbing sound in the flat, and shouts of "mama" on the day the mother and child were believed to have vanished.

An expanded police investigation was launched, with authorities discovering several texts originating from the victim's mobile—among them a notice of quitting to her workplace and communications to the 55-year-old suspect.

Law enforcement confirmed a significant cash transfer was also sent to the individual.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office told the press on that day that a rented space had been rented out before the vanishing and a freezing appliance had been positioned inside.

The two suspects took out the cooling unit from the unit on the day the woman and her child disappeared, the official stated. And a week later, they purchased an additional appliance.

Officials believe they consider this indicates the fatalities were premeditated.

"How they died was not identifiable due to the condition of the remains," the official said.

A legal representative—from the legal authorities—stated the exact sequence of events is still unclear, but the victims were carefully placed and were not found during a prior examination.

Although the men were taken into custody in the summer, it was only on 12 November that the elder brother admitted to an occurrence and to storing the victims. He denies any intent to kill, authorities confirmed.

In a related development, his brother confessed to a concealment but denied involvement in a killing.

The two suspects are currently in custody awaiting trial in detention centers in two Austrian cities, situated at a distance.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative declared the "reported homicide of mother and child... constitutes the abrupt and violent termination of two human lives and reveals a cruel system".

"Female individuals are being killed due to the mere fact that they are female," they added.

"Gender-based killings are a profoundly embedded and society-wide problem that we must address decisively."