Shocking Find: Bodies of Missing Mum and Daughter Found in Freezing Units in Austria

The deceased of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been discovered inside freezing appliances in an flat in western Austria.

The deceased, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been unaccounted for for several months, were uncovered on the end of last week. The cooling units were concealed behind a plasterboard wall in the flat, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

Two men, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were detained in the month of June. The elder brother, a work associate of the female victim, informed law enforcement last week that there had been an incident—but rejected intentional killing.

Addressing reporters previously, a official for the public prosecutor's office stated the brothers were being detained on "strong suspicion of intentional killing".

The identities of those involved have been withheld by authorities, in following national regulations.

Their going missing was originally brought to light by the cousin of the mother, who resides in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.

Police stated the male associate told them at the time she had gone on an extended trip with her child to see her family in the nation of Turkey.

Her bank card was then discovered to be utilized overseas several times.

Yet when police examined the mother's apartment, her smartphone was discovered.

Someone also stated hearing a loud noise in the dwelling, and screams of "mother" on the occasion the two were believed to have vanished.

A wider police investigation was launched, with investigators finding multiple communications originating from the victim's mobile—including a job termination message to her company and communications to the male associate.

Authorities said a four-figure sum was also moved to the individual.

Katja Tersch informed reporters on that day that a storage facility had been secured before the mother and child went missing and a cooling unit had been positioned inside.

The two suspects removed the freezer from the unit on the date the woman and her child vanished, Tersch stated. And a seven days after, they obtained a second unit.

Investigators state they consider this points to the deaths were planned in advance.

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

A legal representative—from the legal authorities—noted the precise timeline is yet to be determined, but the victims were expertly concealed and not discovered during a prior examination.

Although the men were arrested in the summer, it was only on 12 November that the elder brother acknowledged an occurrence and to storing the victims. He disputes any murderous intent, investigators said.

In a related development, his younger brother confessed to a concealment but rejected knowledge of a killing.

The brothers are at this time in detention before court proceedings in jails in two Austrian cities, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative stated the "suspected killing of two... constitutes the sudden and brutal end of two individuals and uncovers a cruel system".

"Females of all ages are falling victim to homicide due to the sole reason that they are female," they went on to say.

"Femicides are a strongly established and society-wide problem that we must fight resolutely."