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The bodies of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been found inside freezing appliances in an flat in western Austria.

The victims, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been missing for a number of months, were detected on the end of last week. The freezers were placed behind a false wall in the flat, situated in the Innsbruck area.

Two men, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were detained in June. The elder brother, a work associate of the Syrian woman, stated to police last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but denied homicide.

Informing the media earlier, a representative for the state prosecutor announced the pair were being kept in custody on "high likelihood of homicide".

The identities of those involved have been withheld by law enforcement, in accordance with national regulations.

The family's disappearance was first reported by the female victim's relative, who resides in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.

Investigators revealed the woman's colleague claimed at the time she had embarked on an extended trip with her child to see her family in Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then discovered to be utilized overseas several times.

But when investigators entered the victim's residence, her smartphone was located.

Someone also reported overhearing a disturbing sound in the flat, and cries of "mum" on the day the two were thought to have disappeared.

A wider official inquiry was started, with officers uncovering several texts originating from the woman's phone—among them a notice of quitting to her employer and messages to the male colleague.

Law enforcement said a four-figure sum was also moved to the man.

Katja Tersch told media representatives on that day that a storage facility had been leased before the vanishing and a freezing appliance had been installed within.

The male siblings removed the cooling unit from the unit on the day the victims disappeared, the official stated. And a seven days after, they purchased a second unit.

Authorities believe they consider this suggests the demise were planned in advance.

"How they died could not be determined due to the condition of the victims," Tersch stated.

Mayr—from the legal authorities—said the precise timeline is yet to be determined, but the victims were carefully placed and went unnoticed during a previous house search.

While the suspects were arrested in the summer, it was only on the 12th of November that the elder brother acknowledged an incident and to storing the victims. He disputes any murderous intent, investigators confirmed.

In a related development, his younger brother confessed to a concealment but denied awareness of a murder.

The pair are presently in custody awaiting trial in prisons in separate locations, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

Via a shared communication, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister declared the "reported homicide of mother and child... symbolizes the sudden and brutal end of two human lives and exposes a brutal scheme".

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

"Gender-based killings are a deeply rooted and widespread concern that we must fight resolutely."