The Herald understands the couple endured several years of a long-distance relationship after he moved out of Sydney, but last year she ended it. Friends of the western Sydney woman say that it was an unequivocal decision, and not one that she had re-thought. Preethi Reddy, 32, was found dead in a suitcase on Tuesday. Credit:NSW Police "She didn't want to be with him anymore. That was it," a source close to the situation said, adding that Dr Reddy had moved on to a new boyfriend. However, police believe that Dr Narde travelled the 400 kilometres from Tamworth to St Leonards for the continuing education course with the sole purpose of seeing his ex-girlfriend.

After the day-long conference finished, Dr Reddy's sister Nithya said that Dr Reddy had been at the nearby Hotel Urban St Leonards on Saturday evening. The next known sighting of Dr Reddy was in the early hours of Sunday morning, when CCTV footage placed her leaving McDonald's on George Street just after 2.15am. Officers believe that she left the fast-food chain alone. Harshwardhan Narde died in a crash in the Upper Hunter on Monday night. CCTV tracks her walking down Market Street, where she entered the lobby of the upmarket Swissotel. Police believe she may have gone to the hotel to tell her former boyfriend to leave her alone once and for all, and are now investigating the possibility that Dr Reddy may have been killed inside the hotel.

Dr Reddy and her former boyfriend “met up in Sydney but we are now looking at all movements between those two to establish what happened,” Detective Superintendent Gavin Dengate told reporters on Wednesday. Her phone was last used on Sunday at 1.47pm on George Street. CCTV footage of 32-year-old Sydney dentist Preethi Reddy before her death. Credit:AAP Dr Reddy's family reported her missing on Sunday afternoon when she failed to return after a late breakfast in the city as planned, which they said was very out of character and "concerning". On Tuesday night, the Reddy family received the devastating news that police had discovered the body of their "sweet, smiling angel".

The dentist's remains had been stuffed in a suitcase in the boot of her late-model Volkswagen Golf abandoned on a Kingsford street. She had been stabbed "numerous times", officers said. Dr Narde swerved his BMW into the path of an oncoming semi-trailer in what police say was a "deliberate" act on Monday night. He died at the scene of the crash. The Glenbrook dental surgery where Preethi Reddy worked was closed on Wednesday. Credit:Nick Moir A since-deleted post on the Oasis Smiles Dental Facebook page on Tuesday night before Dr Reddy's body was found said it was with "great sadness we announce the tragic passing of our beloved Harsh". "We will miss him beyond words. He touched many peoples lives and we will always remember him with his big cheeky smile," the surgery said.

Police had interviewed him as a "standard" procedure after Dr Reddy's disappearance was reported. "At that time it was still a missing person’s inquiry,” Detective Superintendent Dengate said. He said telling Dr Reddy’s parents of her death is the “toughest thing you can ever do”. “I have goose bumps talking about it,” he said.

"As a parent, the worst thing we can do is bury our kids. It’s a space none of us want to be in." More than a dozen mourners gathered at the family's South Penrith home on Wednesday. It was an emotional scene, with several people fielding phone calls from other distraught parties, while others resorted to simply walking up and down the road. On Wednesday night, Dr Reddy's sister, Nithya, released a short statement saying the dentist was "living her best life" before "this unthinkable event".

Loading "Words cannot capture the pain we are feeling with the passing of my beautiful big sister," she said. "Preethi was a bright light; loveable, kind, and protective of all whom were lucky enough to have been loved and cared for by her." Family friend Navniit Anand said Dr Reddy was "a lovely human being" and her family was "shattered". "It takes a lot of effort to be a dentist and she achieved it ... the family's so proud that they had a daughter like that," Mr Anand told reporters. Friends of Dr Reddy said that she was a "gem" of a person who will be mourned.