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

The victims, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were detected on the end of last week. The cooling units were concealed behind a drywall partition in the dwelling, situated in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in the month of June. The elder brother, a colleague of the female victim, stated to law enforcement last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but disputed homicide.

Addressing reporters recently, a spokesman for the state prosecutor announced the two suspects were being held on "high likelihood of intentional killing".

Personal details of those concerned have been withheld by authorities, in accordance with local legislation.

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

Authorities stated the 55-year-old suspect told them at the time she had taken an prolonged visit with her child to visit her parents in Turkey.

Her bank card was then discovered to be utilized overseas on multiple occasions.

Yet when officers entered the mother's apartment, her cellphone was found.

An individual also reported hearing a disturbing sound in the flat, and screams of "mum" on the occasion the mother and child were presumed to have gone missing.

A wider official inquiry was launched, with investigators uncovering various messages originating from the mother's device—such as a resignation letter to her employer and communications to the 55-year-old suspect.

Authorities confirmed a significant cash transfer was also transferred to the individual.

A senior police official stated to the press on recently that a rented space had been rented out before the victims' disappearance and a freezing appliance had been installed within.

The brothers extracted the appliance from the storage space on the very day the woman and her child went missing, Tersch said. And a seven days after, they obtained an additional appliance.

Investigators say they think this points to the demise were planned in advance.

"How they died was not identifiable due to the condition of the victims," she stated.

Mayr—representing the state—said the exact sequence of events is yet to be determined, but the remains were professionally hidden and were not found during a earlier inspection.

While the suspects were detained in June, it was not until 12 November that the suspect confessed to an event and to concealing the remains. He denies any murderous intent, investigators said.

At the same time, his brother acknowledged a attempt to hide evidence but denied knowledge of a killing.

The pair are presently in detention before court proceedings in detention centers in two Austrian cities, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister said the "reported homicide of mother and child... constitutes the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and exposes a heartless setup".

"Females of all ages are being killed due to the simple reality that they are of the female gender," they added.

"Murders of women are a profoundly embedded and society-wide problem that we must fight resolutely."