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

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

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

Informing the media recently, a official for the legal authorities said the brothers were being kept in custody on "serious suspicion of intentional killing".

Personal details of those concerned have not been released by authorities, in accordance with national regulations.

Their going missing was first reported by the female victim's relative, who lives in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Police stated the woman's colleague claimed at the time she had gone on an extended trip with her child to see her family in the nation of Turkey.

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

But when police examined the woman's home, her smartphone was discovered.

A witness also stated listening to a loud noise in the apartment, and shouts of "mum" on the occasion the two were believed to have vanished.

An expanded police investigation was launched, with authorities discovering several texts originating from the woman's phone—including a notice of quitting to her employer and texts to the 55-year-old suspect.

Officials stated a four-figure sum was also moved to the individual.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office told media representatives on recently that a storage unit had been rented out before the vanishing and a freezer had been placed there.

The brothers took out the appliance from the storage space on the day the mother and daughter disappeared, the official said. And a week later, they acquired an additional appliance.

Authorities believe they think this points to the fatalities were intentionally orchestrated.

"The cause of death was not identifiable due to the condition of the victims," Tersch commented.

The prosecutor's spokesman—of the public prosecutor's office—stated the specific order of occurrences is yet to be determined, but the remains were expertly concealed and not discovered during a previous house search.

Although the brothers were detained in June, it was not until 12 November that the 55-year-old admitted to an event and to concealing the remains. He disputes any plan to cause death, investigators stated.

At the same time, his younger brother acknowledged a concealment but rejected knowledge of a killing.

The brothers are presently in custody awaiting trial in detention centers in Innsbruck and Salzburg, situated at a distance.

Through a combined announcement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister declared the "suspected killing of two... constitutes the swift and cruel conclusion of two human lives and reveals a cruel system".

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

"Gender-based killings are a profoundly embedded and widespread concern that we must address decisively."