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The remains of a 34-year-old woman and her 10-year-old daughter have been discovered inside freezing appliances in an flat 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 detected on Friday. The cooling units were hidden behind a plasterboard wall in the apartment, located in the city of Innsbruck.

A pair of males, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were taken into custody in the month of June. The 55-year-old, a work associate of the Syrian woman, informed police last week that there had been an accident—but disputed intentional killing.

Speaking to journalists earlier, a official for the legal authorities said the pair were being held on "high likelihood of homicide".

Personal details of those concerned have been withheld by law enforcement, in accordance with national regulations.

Their going missing was originally brought to light by the cousin of the mother, who resides in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.

Investigators said the woman's colleague told them at the time she had gone 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 in foreign locations repeatedly.

But when police entered the woman's home, her mobile phone was located.

An individual also reported hearing a loud noise in the apartment, and shouts of "mama" on the occasion the two were thought to have disappeared.

A wider police investigation was initiated, with investigators discovering various messages sent from the mother's device—such as a resignation letter to her workplace and communications to the male colleague.

Authorities stated a amount in the thousands was also transferred to the man.

The head of the State Criminal Police Office informed media representatives on Tuesday that a storage facility had been leased before the vanishing and a freezing appliance had been placed there.

The male siblings took out the freezer from the storage space on the day the mother and daughter went missing, Tersch said. And a shortly afterward, they acquired a second unit.

Authorities state they consider this suggests the fatalities were intentionally orchestrated.

"The reason for their demise was not identifiable due to the state of decomposition of the bodies," Tersch said.

A legal representative—from the legal authorities—noted the specific order of occurrences is yet to be determined, but the remains were expertly concealed and not discovered during a prior examination.

Although the men were arrested in the summer, it was only on November 12 that the suspect acknowledged an event and to hiding the bodies. He rejects any murderous intent, authorities stated.

In a related development, his brother admitted to a attempt to hide evidence but denied knowledge of a homicide.

The two suspects are currently in pre-trial detention in detention centers in two Austrian cities, around 117 miles (189km) apart.

In a joint statement, the nation's official for women's affairs and Justice Minister stated the "alleged double murder... constitutes the sudden and brutal end of two individuals and exposes a cruel system".

"Female individuals are being killed due to the mere fact that they are of the female gender," they went on to say.

"Murders of women are a deeply rooted and widespread concern that we must combat firmly."