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The bodies of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been found inside freezers 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 detected on Friday. The cooling units were placed behind a false wall in the apartment, located in the city of Innsbruck.

Two men, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were taken into custody in the month of June. The elder brother, a colleague of the Syrian woman, told authorities last week that there had been an incident—but disputed intentional killing.

Informing reporters previously, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office announced the pair were being kept in custody on "serious suspicion of homicide".

The names of those concerned have not been released by law enforcement, in accordance with local legislation.

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

Authorities stated the woman's colleague claimed at the time she had embarked on an extended trip with her daughter to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then noted as being active abroad several times.

Yet when police searched the victim's residence, her mobile phone was located.

A witness also reported listening to a disturbing sound in the flat, and cries of "mama" on the occasion the two were presumed to have gone missing.

A wider criminal probe was initiated, with investigators uncovering various messages originating from the victim's mobile—such as a job termination message to her company and texts to the male colleague.

Officials said a amount in the thousands was also transferred to the suspect.

Katja Tersch stated to media representatives on that day that a storage unit had been secured before the mother and child went missing and a freezing appliance had been positioned inside.

The brothers extracted the appliance from the facility on the day the woman and her child disappeared, the official revealed. And a seven days after, they purchased a second unit.

Authorities say they consider this points to the deaths were planned in advance.

"The reason for their demise remains unclear due to the condition of the victims," she stated.

The prosecutor's spokesman—from the legal authorities—noted the specific order of occurrences is still unclear, but the victims were professionally hidden and went unnoticed during a previous house search.

While the brothers were taken into custody in June, it was not until 12 November that the elder brother admitted to an occurrence and to hiding the bodies. He disputes any plan to cause death, authorities confirmed.

At the same time, his younger brother acknowledged a concealment but denied involvement in a homicide.

The pair are presently in pre-trial detention in detention centers in Innsbruck and Salzburg, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

In a joint statement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister said the "alleged double murder... represents the sudden and brutal end of two human lives and reveals a heartless setup".

"Women and girls are being killed due to the mere fact that they are of the female gender," they added.

"Murders of women are a deeply rooted and issue affecting all of society that we must fight resolutely."