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

The victims, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been missing for a number of months, were found on the end of last week. The cooling units were hidden behind a drywall partition in the apartment, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

Two men, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were arrested in June. The elder brother, a colleague of the female victim, informed law enforcement last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but rejected intentional killing.

Speaking to journalists previously, a official for the legal authorities announced the pair were being detained on "high likelihood of homicide".

The names of those involved have not been released by police, in accordance with local legislation.

The vanishing of the mother and child was first reported by the cousin of the mother, who is based in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.

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 Turkey.

Her bank card was then found to have been used in foreign locations repeatedly.

However when police entered the woman's home, her mobile phone was located.

Someone also claimed overhearing a disturbing sound in the dwelling, and screams of "mama" on the date the mother and child were thought to have disappeared.

An expanded official inquiry was started, with authorities uncovering various messages transmitted via the woman's phone—among them a notice of quitting to her employer and communications to the male colleague.

Law enforcement stated a four-figure sum was also moved to the suspect.

Katja Tersch stated to media representatives on that day that a storage facility had been rented out before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been placed there.

The male siblings extracted the cooling unit from the unit on the very day the mother and daughter disappeared, she revealed. And a shortly afterward, they obtained another freezer.

Investigators believe they consider this points to the deaths were premeditated.

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

Mayr—of the public prosecutor's office—noted the precise timeline is not yet known, but the victims were expertly concealed and were not found during a previous house search.

While the men were taken into custody in the summer, it was not until the 12th of November that the elder brother confessed to an event and to hiding the bodies. He disputes any murderous intent, officials confirmed.

In a related development, his brother acknowledged a attempt to hide evidence but rejected awareness of a killing.

The two suspects are at this time in detention before court proceedings in detention centers in two Austrian cities, situated at a distance.

Via a shared communication, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative said the "alleged double murder... 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 mere fact that they are women and girls," they added.

"Femicides are a strongly established and widespread concern that we must address decisively."