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The remains of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been located inside freezing appliances in an residence in the western part of Austria.

The victims, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been missing for a number of months, were detected on the end of last week. The freezers were concealed behind a false wall in the dwelling, located in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were arrested in the month of June. The older man, a colleague of the female victim, told police last week that there had been an accident—but disputed homicide.

Addressing journalists recently, a spokesman for the state prosecutor announced the brothers were being detained on "serious suspicion of homicide".

The names of those concerned have not been disclosed by authorities, in following local legislation.

The family's disappearance was first reported by the cousin of the mother, who is based in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Investigators revealed the 55-year-old suspect told them at the time she had embarked on an extended trip with her daughter to see her family in the nation of Turkey.

The victim's bank card was then found to have been used abroad on multiple occasions.

Yet when officers searched the woman's home, her smartphone was located.

Someone also claimed listening to a disturbing sound in the apartment, and screams of "mum" on the occasion the two were thought to have disappeared.

A broader official inquiry was initiated, with authorities uncovering various messages transmitted via the victim's mobile—including a resignation letter to her company and messages to the 55-year-old suspect.

Officials said a four-figure sum was also transferred to the individual.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office told the press on Tuesday that a storage facility had been leased before the mother and child went missing and a cooling unit had been positioned inside.

The male siblings removed the appliance from the facility on the date the woman and her child vanished, she revealed. And a shortly afterward, they purchased another freezer.

Investigators say they believe this suggests the deaths were intentionally orchestrated.

"How they died remains unclear due to the advanced decay of the victims," Tersch commented.

A legal representative—from the legal authorities—said the exact sequence of events is not yet known, but the bodies were expertly concealed and were not found during a prior examination.

While the brothers were arrested in the summer, it was only on 12 November that the elder brother confessed to an event and to storing the victims. He rejects any plan to cause death, authorities stated.

In a related development, his younger brother acknowledged a concealment but rejected knowledge of a murder.

The brothers are currently in detention before court proceedings in jails in separate locations, 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 a mother and child and exposes a brutal scheme".

"Female individuals are being murdered due to the simple reality that they are of the female gender," they continued.

"Murders of women are a profoundly embedded and society-wide problem that we must fight resolutely."