Preethi Reddy's friends disseminated an image of her last seen at a fast food outlet in Sydney's CBD. Police said her body had been stabbed numerous times. On Wednesday morning, police revealed Dr Reddy's ex-boyfriend died after he deliberately drove his car into the path of a semi-trailer on the New England Highway, Willow Tree, in the NSW Upper Hunter region. The crash, which occurred about 10pm, is "believed to be a deliberate act," police said. Dr Reddy, a dentist from Penrith, had driven her car to a dental conference in St Leonards, on the north shore, on Friday.

CCTV footage showed Dr Reddy inside McDonald's at the Strand Arcade, in the Sydney CBD, about 2.15am on Sunday - Mardi Gras night - wearing a dark-green, long-sleeved top, black pants, and black ballet flats. She then left the store alone, and walked south on Market Street. Police on Wednesday morning said that Dr Reddy and her ex-boyfriend stayed in a hotel in Market Street in Sydney's CBD on Sunday. The 32-year-old spoke to her family on Sunday morning at about 11am, telling them she was planning on a late breakfast before heading home. She was not seen or heard from since.

"At this stage we are unable to identify where she stayed on [the morning of Sunday 3rd] and whom she was with," a post on the Help Find Preethi Reedy Facebook reads. One resident of Strachan Street, who did not want to be named, said she returned home at 9.45pm last night and saw most of the street was blocked off by police. She said she didn't think too much of it, as it was "quiet" and there was "no indication it was a murder". As the operation went on late into the night, the woman asked police what was happening.

"They said you're safe, but it's pretty awful". Strachan Lane in Kingsford, where the body of Preethi Reddy was found in a suitcase in her car. Credit:Kate Geraghty Waking up to news of the true reason police were in the street, she said she felt "awful" and "uneasy". "I feel physically sick, and sad for her." Michael Zaslavsky, lives nearby and said the operation "didn't seem very serious".

"We thought they were just looking for evidence," he said. Michael Zaslavsky witnessed the police operation on Strachan Lane. Credit:Kate Geraghty "It was eerie last night thinking that's the car, but it's even more eerie knowing her body was there." Family, friends and police had earlier expressed grave concerns about Dr Reddy's whereabouts, saying that her disappearance was out of character and there were "serious concerns for her welfare". Police said in a statement that inquiries are continuing into the circumstances surrounding her death.