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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 flat in the western part of Austria.

The victims, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been unaccounted for for a number of months, were uncovered on Friday. The cooling units were placed behind a drywall partition in the apartment, located in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were taken into custody in the month of June. The 55-year-old, a work associate of the Syrian woman, stated to authorities last week that there had been an accident—but disputed homicide.

Speaking to reporters recently, a representative for the state prosecutor stated the pair were being held on "strong suspicion of homicide".

Personal details of those concerned have not been disclosed by authorities, in compliance with local legislation.

Their going missing was originally brought to light by the female victim's relative, who resides in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.

Investigators revealed the male associate claimed at the time she had gone on an extended trip with her daughter to see her family in the nation of Turkey.

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

However when officers entered the woman's home, her smartphone was found.

An individual also reported overhearing a loud noise in the flat, and screams of "mama" on the occasion the two were thought to have disappeared.

A wider police investigation was initiated, with authorities finding various messages originating from the mother's device—such as a notice of quitting to her employer and texts to the male associate.

Authorities stated a significant cash transfer was also sent to the suspect.

Katja Tersch informed reporters on that day that a storage unit had been leased before the mother and child went missing and a freezing appliance had been installed within.

The two suspects removed the freezer from the unit on the day the mother and daughter went missing, the official said. And a week later, they purchased a second unit.

Officials believe they believe this suggests the deaths were premeditated.

"The cause of death was not identifiable due to the condition of the bodies," Tersch said.

Mayr—representing the state—noted the exact sequence of events is yet to be determined, but the victims were professionally hidden and went unnoticed during a earlier inspection.

Although the men were detained in the summer, it was not until the 12th of November that the suspect admitted to an occurrence and to hiding the bodies. He rejects any plan to cause death, investigators confirmed.

In a related development, his brother admitted to a cover-up but disputed knowledge of a killing.

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

In a joint statement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister said the "suspected killing of two... symbolizes the abrupt and violent termination of a mother and child and uncovers a cruel system".

"Female individuals are falling victim to homicide due to the sole reason that they are female," they went on to say.

"Murders of women are a deeply rooted and society-wide problem that we must combat firmly."