The deceased of a mother aged 34 and her young daughter, 10 have been discovered inside freezing appliances in an residence in the western part of Austria.
The victims, a Syrian woman and her child, who had been missing for a number of months, were found on Friday. The freezers were concealed behind a false wall in the apartment, situated in the Innsbruck area.
A pair of males, a Austrian man, 55 and his brother aged 53, were detained in June. The older man, a work associate of the Syrian woman, stated to law enforcement last week that there had been an unfortunate event—but disputed homicide.
Informing reporters earlier, a official for the legal authorities announced the two suspects were being detained on "serious suspicion of murder".
The names of those implicated have been withheld by authorities, in following national regulations.
The vanishing of the mother and child was first reported by the cousin of the mother, who is based in Germany, on the 25th of July last year.
Investigators stated the woman's colleague informed them at the time she had gone on an long journey with her child to travel to her relatives in the nation of Turkey.
The victim's bank card was then noted as being active in foreign locations several times.
Yet when police entered the mother's apartment, her smartphone was found.
Someone also reported hearing a commotion in the apartment, and shouts of "mother" on the date the two were presumed to have gone missing.
A broader criminal probe was launched, with officers finding several texts sent from the woman's phone—including a job termination message to her company and communications to the 55-year-old suspect.
Authorities stated a four-figure sum was also moved to the suspect.
The head of the State Criminal Police Office told the press on that day that a rented space had been rented out before the vanishing and a freezer had been placed there.
The male siblings removed the freezer from the storage space on the date the mother and daughter went missing, the official revealed. And a shortly afterward, they acquired another freezer.
Investigators state they think this suggests the demise were intentionally orchestrated.
"The reason for their demise could not be determined due to the advanced decay of the victims," she said.
Mayr—from the legal authorities—stated the exact sequence of events is yet to be determined, but the remains were professionally hidden and not discovered during a previous house search.
While the brothers were arrested in the summer, it was not until 12 November that the elder brother acknowledged an incident and to hiding the bodies. He denies any plan to cause death, authorities stated.
Meanwhile, his brother admitted to a cover-up but denied involvement in a homicide.
The pair 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 said the "alleged double murder... symbolizes the swift and cruel conclusion of a mother and child and uncovers a heartless setup".
"Females of all ages are falling victim to homicide due to the sole reason that they are of the female gender," they added.
"Gender-based killings are a deeply rooted and issue affecting all of society that we must address decisively."
