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The deceased of a 34-year-old woman and her young daughter, 10 have been found inside freezers in an apartment in the western part of Austria.

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been missing for several months, were detected on the end of last week. The freezers were placed behind a false wall in the flat, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

A pair of males, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were taken into custody in June. The elder brother, a colleague of the female victim, told law enforcement last week that there had been an incident—but denied murder.

Speaking to the media previously, a spokesman for the legal authorities announced the brothers were being kept in custody on "serious suspicion of intentional killing".

The identities of those involved have not been disclosed by police, in accordance with local legislation.

The vanishing of the mother and child was initially flagged by the woman's cousin, who resides in Germany, on July 25, 2024.

Authorities stated the male associate informed them at the time she had gone on an extended trip with her child to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.

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

But when officers examined the mother's apartment, her mobile phone was discovered.

A witness also reported listening to a commotion in the apartment, and shouts of "mama" on the day the mother and child were presumed to have gone missing.

An expanded police investigation was launched, with officers discovering several texts sent from the victim's mobile—among them a resignation letter to her company and communications to the 55-year-old suspect.

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

Katja Tersch stated to reporters on recently that a storage facility had been rented out before the vanishing and a cooling unit had been installed within.

The brothers took out the appliance from the facility on the day the woman and her child vanished, she revealed. And a week later, they purchased an additional appliance.

Officials say they believe this indicates the deaths were premeditated.

"The reason for their demise remains unclear due to the state of decomposition of the remains," Tersch commented.

Mayr—of the public prosecutor's office—said the precise timeline is not yet known, but the remains were expertly concealed and went unnoticed during a prior examination.

While the men were taken into custody in the summer, it was only on the 12th of November that the suspect admitted to an occurrence and to concealing the remains. He disputes any murderous intent, officials confirmed.

In a related development, his younger brother admitted to a concealment but denied knowledge of a killing.

The brothers are currently in detention before court proceedings in prisons in separate locations, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

Via a shared communication, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative declared the "reported homicide of mother and child... represents the sudden and brutal end of two individuals and uncovers a brutal scheme".

"Female individuals are being murdered due to the mere fact that they are women and girls," they went on to say.

"Murders of women are a profoundly embedded and widespread concern that we must combat firmly."