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The bodies of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been discovered inside freezing appliances in an apartment in western Austria.

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

Two individuals, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were detained in the month of June. The elder brother, a work associate of the Syrian woman, informed law enforcement last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but disputed homicide.

Speaking to reporters earlier, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office stated the brothers were being kept in custody on "serious suspicion of intentional killing".

The identities of those concerned have not been released by law enforcement, in accordance with local legislation.

The vanishing of the mother and child was initially flagged by the cousin of the mother, who lives in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.

Investigators said the male associate informed them at the time she had gone on an extended trip with her child to travel to her relatives in the nation of Turkey.

Her bank card was then found to have been used abroad on multiple occasions.

Yet when investigators entered the mother's apartment, her smartphone was located.

An individual also reported listening to a commotion in the apartment, and cries of "mum" on the occasion the mother and child were presumed to have gone missing.

A broader official inquiry was launched, with officers discovering multiple communications originating from the victim's mobile—including a resignation letter to her company and communications to the male associate.

Law enforcement stated a significant cash transfer was also sent to the man.

Katja Tersch stated to the press on Tuesday that a storage unit had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a freezer had been placed there.

The two suspects took out the freezer from the storage space on the day the mother and daughter disappeared, Tersch revealed. And a seven days after, they obtained a second unit.

Investigators say they believe this points to the fatalities were planned in advance.

"How they died could not be determined due to the advanced decay of the victims," she said.

Mayr—of the public prosecutor's office—stated the exact sequence of events is still unclear, but the remains were carefully placed and not discovered during a prior examination.

While the brothers were arrested in the summer, it was only on 12 November that the 55-year-old acknowledged an event and to concealing the remains. He denies any intent to kill, investigators said.

At the same time, his brother acknowledged a cover-up but disputed awareness of a killing.

The brothers are presently in detention before court proceedings in detention centers in two Austrian cities, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

In a joint statement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister said the "alleged double murder... represents the swift and cruel conclusion of two human lives and reveals a brutal scheme".

"Women and girls are being killed due to the simple reality that they are of the female gender," they added.

"Gender-based killings are a deeply rooted and issue affecting all of society that we must fight resolutely."