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The bodies of a mother aged 34 and her 10-year-old daughter have been located inside freezing appliances in an apartment in western Austria.

The deceased, a woman from Syria and her child, who had been missing for a number of months, were found on Friday. The freezers were concealed behind a drywall partition in the flat, located in the Innsbruck area.

Two individuals, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were detained in June. The 55-year-old, a colleague of the female victim, stated to police last week that there had been an accident—but denied intentional killing.

Speaking to the media previously, a official for the public prosecutor's office stated the two suspects were being detained on "high likelihood of murder".

The names of those concerned have not been released by police, in accordance with local legislation.

Their going missing was first reported by the female victim's relative, who lives in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.

Authorities said the woman's colleague 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 in foreign locations repeatedly.

But when police searched the victim's residence, her cellphone was located.

A witness also stated hearing a disturbing sound in the flat, and screams of "mother" on the occasion the mother and child were believed to have vanished.

A broader police investigation was launched, with officers finding multiple communications originating from the mother's device—such as a job termination message to her company and texts to the 55-year-old suspect.

Law enforcement stated a significant cash transfer was also transferred to the suspect.

Katja Tersch stated to media representatives on recently that a storage unit had been leased before the vanishing and a freezing appliance had been positioned inside.

The brothers took out the cooling unit from the storage space on the day the woman and her child disappeared, the official said. And a shortly afterward, they obtained another freezer.

Officials say they believe this points to the deaths were planned in advance.

"How they died was not identifiable due to the advanced decay of the victims," Tersch commented.

The prosecutor's spokesman—of the public prosecutor's office—stated the exact sequence of events is not yet known, but the bodies were professionally hidden and were not found during a prior examination.

Although the men were detained in the summer, it was only on November 12 that the 55-year-old acknowledged an event and to concealing the remains. He denies any intent to kill, authorities said.

In a related development, his younger brother acknowledged a concealment but rejected awareness of a murder.

The two suspects are presently in detention before court proceedings in prisons in separate locations, situated at a distance.

In a joint statement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister declared the "reported homicide of mother and child... symbolizes the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and reveals a cruel system".

"Women and girls are falling victim to homicide due to the sole reason that they are women and girls," they continued.

"Gender-based killings are a deeply rooted and issue affecting all of society that we must fight resolutely."