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

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were uncovered on Friday. The freezers were concealed behind a plasterboard wall in the flat, located in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were taken into custody in the month of June. The elder brother, a colleague of the Syrian woman, told authorities last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but denied homicide.

Informing journalists earlier, a representative for the legal authorities said the brothers were being kept in custody on "high likelihood of intentional killing".

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

The family's disappearance was initially flagged by the cousin of the mother, who resides in Germany, on 25 July 2024.

Investigators said the woman's colleague claimed at the time she had taken an extended trip with her daughter to see her family in Turkey.

The mother's debit card was then noted as being active abroad several times.

Yet when investigators entered the woman's home, her cellphone was discovered.

An individual also claimed hearing a disturbing sound in the apartment, and shouts of "mother" on the date the pair were believed to have vanished.

A wider criminal probe was initiated, with investigators uncovering various messages sent from the mother's device—including a resignation letter to her company and texts to the male associate.

Officials confirmed a four-figure sum was also sent to the suspect.

Katja Tersch stated to media representatives on Tuesday that a storage facility had been rented out before the vanishing and a cooling unit had been placed there.

The brothers removed the freezer from the unit on the day the victims went missing, Tersch revealed. And a shortly afterward, they obtained a second unit.

Authorities say they consider this points to the deaths were intentionally orchestrated.

"The cause of death was not identifiable due to the condition of the bodies," the official commented.

Mayr—from the legal authorities—said the exact sequence of events is not yet known, but the victims were carefully placed and not discovered during a earlier inspection.

While the men were detained in June, it was only on the 12th of November that the 55-year-old acknowledged an occurrence and to storing the victims. He denies any murderous intent, officials confirmed.

At the same time, his younger brother admitted to a cover-up but rejected knowledge of a homicide.

The pair are at this time in detention before court proceedings in detention centers in separate locations, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Via a shared communication, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister declared the "alleged double murder... symbolizes the swift and cruel conclusion of two individuals and exposes a heartless setup".

"Females of all ages are falling victim to homicide due to the mere fact that they are of the female gender," they added.

"Gender-based killings are a strongly established and widespread concern that we must address decisively."