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The bodies of a 34-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter have been discovered inside freezing appliances in an apartment in the western part of Austria.

The victims, a Syrian woman and her daughter, who had been missing for a number of months, were found on Friday. The cooling units were placed behind a plasterboard wall in the dwelling, located in the Innsbruck area.

A pair of males, a 55-year-old Austrian and his brother aged 53, were detained in June. The 55-year-old, a work associate of the Syrian woman, stated to police last week that there had been an incident—but denied murder.

Addressing the media recently, a representative for the legal authorities said the brothers were being kept in custody on "serious suspicion of intentional killing".

The identities of those implicated have not been released by police, in following local legislation.

Their going missing was initially flagged by the cousin of the mother, who resides in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.

Investigators said the woman's colleague claimed at the time she had embarked on an long journey with her child to visit her parents in the nation of Turkey.

The mother's debit card was then noted as being active in foreign locations on multiple occasions.

However when investigators examined the mother's apartment, her mobile phone was discovered.

An individual also claimed hearing a loud noise in the dwelling, and screams of "mother" on the day the pair were presumed to have gone missing.

A wider official inquiry was launched, with investigators finding multiple communications transmitted via the victim's mobile—such as a resignation letter to her employer and communications to the male associate.

Authorities confirmed a amount in the thousands was also sent to the man.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office stated to media representatives on recently that a storage unit had been rented out before the vanishing and a freezing appliance had been placed there.

The two suspects took out the appliance from the storage space on the date the mother and daughter disappeared, Tersch said. And a week later, they obtained another freezer.

Authorities state they consider this suggests the fatalities were planned in advance.

"The reason for their demise remains unclear due to the condition of the bodies," she said.

A legal representative—from the legal authorities—noted the exact sequence of events is yet to be determined, but the bodies were carefully placed and were not found during a earlier inspection.

Although the brothers were arrested in the summer, it was not until 12 November that the suspect confessed to an incident and to storing the victims. He disputes any plan to cause death, officials said.

Meanwhile, his younger brother acknowledged a concealment but disputed involvement in a homicide.

The two suspects are at this time in custody awaiting trial in detention centers in separate locations, approximately 189 kilometers away from each other.

Through a combined announcement, Austria's Minister for Women and Justice Minister said the "alleged double murder... constitutes the sudden and brutal end of two individuals and uncovers a brutal scheme".

"Females of all ages are being murdered due to the mere fact that they are of the female gender," they added.

"Gender-based killings are a deeply rooted and society-wide problem that we must combat firmly."