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The bodies of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been located inside freezers in an residence in the western part of Austria.

The deceased, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been missing for a number of months, were uncovered on the end of last week. The cooling units were concealed behind a false wall in the flat, located in the city of Innsbruck.

A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were taken into custody in June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the Syrian woman, informed law enforcement last week that there had been an incident—but disputed homicide.

Addressing journalists earlier, a official for the public prosecutor's office stated the brothers were being detained on "high likelihood of homicide".

The identities of those concerned have been withheld by authorities, in following local legislation.

The family's disappearance was initially flagged by the female victim's relative, who lives in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Investigators revealed the male associate told them at the time she had gone on an extended trip with her child to travel to her relatives in Turkey.

Her bank card was then found to have been used overseas on multiple occasions.

Yet when police searched the woman's home, her mobile phone was discovered.

A witness also stated listening to a commotion in the dwelling, and screams of "mother" on the date the pair were believed to have vanished.

An expanded criminal probe was started, with officers finding multiple communications sent from the woman's phone—among them a job termination message to her employer and messages to the male associate.

Authorities said a four-figure sum was also transferred to the suspect.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office stated to the press on Tuesday that a storage unit had been secured before the mother and child went missing and a freezing appliance had been positioned inside.

The brothers removed the freezer from the unit on the very day the victims vanished, she stated. And a week later, they acquired another freezer.

Authorities say they believe this points to the demise were premeditated.

"The cause of death was not identifiable due to the advanced decay of the remains," Tersch commented.

A legal representative—from the legal authorities—stated the specific order of occurrences is yet to be determined, but the victims were expertly concealed and were not found during a prior examination.

Although the men were arrested in the summer, it was only on November 12 that the elder brother acknowledged an occurrence and to concealing the remains. He denies any intent to kill, investigators said.

Meanwhile, his brother admitted to a cover-up but rejected awareness of a murder.

The brothers are at this time in pre-trial detention in jails in separate locations, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

In a joint statement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister stated the "reported homicide of mother and child... represents the abrupt and violent termination of a mother and child and reveals a heartless setup".

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

"Femicides are a deeply rooted and issue affecting all of society that we must address decisively."