A missing Selman mother of three was found shot to death Tuesday in the trunk of her vehicle, and her ex-husband was found dead in Birmingham from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.

Selma Police Chief Spencer Collier identified the murder victim as Mary Elizabeth Timmons Scott, a 35-year-old beloved hairstylist who was reported missing Monday. Her ex-husband has been identified as Greg Scott, a 63-year-old Selma man.

Police said Scott was a psychologist, but the Alabama Board of Examiners in Psychology say Scott was not licensed as a psychologist in Alabama and was not associated with any licensed or regulated practice of psychology in the state.

Family reported Mary Scott and her two young daughters missing on Monday to the Dallas County Sheriff's Office, who brought Selma police into the investigation. Relatives posted on Facebook that the girls had spent the weekend with their father, and felt he may have tried to lure Mary Scott back to the home by telling her that one of the children was sick. "She had been in regular contact with her family and friends and made them aware that she was going to check on her children,'' according to one relative's post. "No one has heard from them since early yesterday (Monday) morning. The children did not go to school or to the doctor."

Collier said police launched a search for the missing family on Monday evening but to no avail. On Tuesday morning, investigators were notified that the girls were safe with a family member in Birmingham. "We knew then we had a statewide issue,'' Collier said.

Birmingham police discovered Greg Scott dead shortly before 8:30 a.m. Tuesday in the 8500 block of Zion City Road in front of Earnest Johnson Funeral home. By noon, authorities had found Mary Scott dead from a gunshot wound to the head. She was found in the area of Dallas County Road 540, less than a half mile from the family's home.

Collier said it appears Mary Scott was killed at the home, and her body then driven into the wooded area where she was found, which was about 500 to 600 yards away from the house.

From the air, he said, investigators could clearly see the path Greg Scott took to take the body into the woods. They believe he drove the vehicle out there, and then walked back home.

"This was planned," Collier said, "but he was not very deliberate in trying to conceal it."

Collier said the couple was divorced but had been battling over custody of the children. They currently had joint custody, with the children living with their mother.

After both were found dead Tuesday, investigators learned Greg Scott on Monday had filed paperwork with his lawyer giving custody of their two daughters to his sister in Birmingham. He also tried to have his life insurance beneficiary changed. He worked at the Cahaba Mental Health Center in Selma.

Mary Scott also leaves behind a 15-year-old son who lives with his father in Birmingham. The two daughters are in the care of Greg Scott's sister.

"It's very sad,'' Collier said