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The remains of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been discovered inside freezers in an apartment in the western part of Austria.

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

A pair of males, a Austrian man, 55 and his 53-year-old brother, were detained in June. The older man, a colleague of the Syrian woman, stated to law enforcement last week that there had been an accident—but disputed murder.

Informing journalists earlier, a representative for the public prosecutor's office announced the two suspects were being held on "strong suspicion of homicide".

The identities of those involved have not been released by law enforcement, in accordance with Austrian law.

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

Police said the male associate informed them at the time she had taken an prolonged visit with her daughter to see her family in the nation of Turkey.

Her bank card was then noted as being active in foreign locations on multiple occasions.

However when investigators examined the victim's residence, her cellphone was found.

Someone also stated hearing a commotion in the apartment, and shouts of "mother" on the occasion the mother and child were thought to have disappeared.

A wider police investigation was launched, with investigators finding various messages originating from the woman's phone—including a resignation letter to her workplace and communications to the male associate.

Authorities stated a amount in the thousands was also sent to the individual.

Katja Tersch informed reporters on that day that a rented space had been rented out before the mother and child went missing and a freezing appliance had been positioned inside.

The male siblings took out the cooling unit from the facility on the day the mother and daughter vanished, the official said. And a week later, they purchased a second unit.

Authorities state they think this points to the deaths were premeditated.

"The cause of death could not be determined due to the condition of the remains," Tersch commented.

A legal representative—from the legal authorities—noted the specific order of occurrences is still unclear, but the remains were expertly concealed and were not found during a earlier inspection.

While the men were detained in the summer, it was only on 12 November that the elder brother acknowledged an incident and to concealing the remains. He disputes any plan to cause death, investigators confirmed.

In a related development, his younger brother confessed to a attempt to hide evidence but rejected awareness of a murder.

The pair are presently in custody awaiting trial in jails in two Austrian cities, situated at a distance.

Via a shared communication, the nation's official for women's affairs and the top legal representative declared the "suspected killing of two... constitutes the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and reveals a cruel system".

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

"Gender-based killings are a profoundly embedded and society-wide problem that we must fight resolutely."