Disturbing Unearthing: Remains of Vanished Mum and Daughter Found in Freezing Units in the Alpine Nation

The deceased of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been discovered inside freezers in an flat in western Austria.

The deceased, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been missing for a number of months, were uncovered on Friday. The freezers were concealed behind a plasterboard wall in the dwelling, situated in the city of Innsbruck.

A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his 53-year-old brother, were taken into custody in the month of June. The elder brother, a colleague of the female victim, informed police last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but denied intentional killing.

Informing journalists earlier, a representative for the public prosecutor's office announced the pair were being kept in custody on "high likelihood of intentional killing".

The names of those concerned have not been disclosed by law enforcement, in accordance with national regulations.

The family's disappearance was first reported by the woman's cousin, who resides in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.

Police said the woman's colleague told them at the time she had embarked on an extended trip with her child to travel to her relatives in Turkey.

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

However when investigators searched the mother's apartment, her cellphone was located.

Someone also claimed hearing a disturbing sound in the dwelling, and cries of "mum" on the day the two were believed to have vanished.

A broader official inquiry was started, with authorities uncovering multiple communications sent from the mother's device—such as a resignation letter to her employer and messages to the male colleague.

Law enforcement confirmed a significant cash transfer was also sent to the suspect.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office stated to the press on Tuesday that a storage unit had been leased before the victims' disappearance and a cooling unit had been installed within.

The two suspects took out the freezer from the unit on the date the woman and her child disappeared, Tersch stated. And a seven days after, they purchased a second unit.

Investigators believe they consider this indicates the demise were premeditated.

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

The prosecutor's spokesman—representing the state—stated the exact sequence of events is still unclear, but the bodies were professionally hidden and went unnoticed during a previous house search.

Although the brothers were arrested in the summer, it was not until November 12 that the suspect admitted to an event and to concealing the remains. He denies any plan to cause death, investigators said.

At the same time, his 53-year-old sibling acknowledged a cover-up but denied involvement in a murder.

The pair are presently in pre-trial detention in detention centers in two Austrian cities, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

In a joint statement, Austria's Minister for Women and the top legal representative declared the "reported homicide of mother and child... symbolizes the sudden and brutal end of two human lives and reveals a cruel system".

"Women and girls are being killed due to the sole reason that they are of the female gender," they went on to say.

"Femicides are a profoundly embedded and widespread concern that we must combat firmly."