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

The deceased, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were found on Friday. The cooling units were hidden behind a drywall partition in the flat, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were taken into custody in June. The 55-year-old, a work associate of the Syrian woman, informed police last week that there had been an incident—but denied murder.

Addressing journalists previously, a spokesman for the public prosecutor's office announced the brothers were being detained on "serious suspicion of murder".

The names of those involved have not been disclosed by law enforcement, in following national regulations.

The vanishing of the mother and child was first reported by the cousin of the mother, who is based in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Authorities said the 55-year-old suspect claimed at the time she had embarked on an long journey with her child to visit her parents in Turkey.

Her bank card was then found to have been used overseas several times.

However when investigators entered the victim's residence, her mobile phone was found.

Someone also claimed overhearing a loud noise in the apartment, and cries of "mama" on the date the pair were believed to have vanished.

An expanded police investigation was initiated, with investigators discovering several texts originating from the victim's mobile—including a notice of quitting to her workplace and messages to the male colleague.

Authorities stated a amount in the thousands was also transferred to the individual.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office informed the press on recently that a storage facility had been leased before the mother and child went missing and a freezing appliance had been positioned inside.

The male siblings took out the freezer from the facility on the very day the mother and daughter disappeared, the official stated. And a shortly afterward, they obtained an additional appliance.

Investigators state they believe this indicates the deaths were premeditated.

"The cause of death was not identifiable due to the state of decomposition of the victims," the official stated.

A legal representative—from the legal authorities—stated the specific order of occurrences is still unclear, but the bodies were professionally hidden and not discovered during a prior examination.

While the suspects were taken into custody in the summer, it was only on the 12th of November that the elder brother confessed to an event and to hiding the bodies. He denies any murderous intent, investigators stated.

In a related development, his 53-year-old sibling confessed to a attempt to hide evidence but disputed knowledge of a killing.

The brothers are at this time in pre-trial detention in prisons in separate locations, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

In a joint statement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister said the "suspected killing of two... represents the sudden and brutal end of two individuals and reveals a cruel system".

"Women and girls are falling victim to homicide due to the mere fact that they are female," they went on to say.

"Femicides are a profoundly embedded and widespread concern that we must fight resolutely."