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The bodies of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been found inside freezers in an flat in western Austria.

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were detected on Friday. The cooling units were placed behind a false wall in the flat, situated in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were arrested in June. The older man, a work associate of the female victim, told police last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but denied murder.

Informing the media previously, a representative for the legal authorities said the two suspects were being kept in custody on "serious suspicion of murder".

The names of those implicated have not been released by authorities, in compliance with Austrian law.

Their going missing was first reported by the cousin of the mother, who lives in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.

Police revealed the 55-year-old suspect claimed at the time she had taken an long journey with her child to see her family in the nation of Turkey.

The mother's debit card was then found to have been used abroad repeatedly.

But when police entered the victim's residence, her cellphone was discovered.

An individual also claimed hearing a commotion in the dwelling, and screams of "mama" on the date the mother and child were presumed to have gone missing.

An expanded police investigation was initiated, with officers discovering various messages originating from the victim's mobile—among them a resignation letter to her workplace and messages to the male associate.

Authorities said a significant cash transfer was also sent to the suspect.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office stated to reporters on Tuesday that a storage unit had been secured before the vanishing and a freezing appliance had been placed there.

The male siblings extracted the appliance from the facility on the very day the victims went missing, Tersch said. And a seven days after, they obtained an additional appliance.

Authorities say they think this indicates the deaths were planned in advance.

"The reason for their demise could not be determined due to the advanced decay of the remains," she commented.

Mayr—of the public prosecutor's office—noted the precise timeline is still unclear, but the bodies were professionally hidden and not discovered during a prior examination.

Although the suspects were taken into custody in June, it was not until 12 November that the 55-year-old admitted to an occurrence and to hiding the bodies. He rejects any murderous intent, authorities confirmed.

Meanwhile, his 53-year-old sibling confessed to a concealment but disputed involvement in a homicide.

The two suspects are presently in pre-trial detention in jails in Innsbruck and Salzburg, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Via a shared communication, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister said the "suspected killing of two... represents the abrupt and violent termination of a mother and child and exposes a heartless setup".

"Females of all ages are being murdered due to the simple reality that they are women and girls," they went on to say.

"Murders of women are a strongly established and widespread concern that we must fight resolutely."