The body of missing Sydney woman Dr Preethi Reddy has been found in a suitcase locked in a car

The mystery has deepened around the final moments of a Sydney dentist who was brutally murdered before being found stuffed inside a suitcase.

Preethi Reddy was reported missing on Sunday after she failed to return home from a dental convention at St Leonards, in Sydney’s north, on Saturday.

According to police, she spent the night with an ex-boyfriend, dentist Harshwardhan Narde of Tamworth, before she disappeared.

On Tuesday, her bloodied body was found in her car, parked in a laneway at Kingsford in Sydney’s east. She had been stabbed multiple times.

Police have since appealed to the public to help them trace Dr Reddy’s final movements.

Dr Reddy was captured on CCTV inside McDonald’s at the Strand Arcade in Sydney’s CBD - amid mardi gras celebrations - about 2.15am on Sunday. CCTV footage shows Dr Reddy standing at the counter before she appeared to leave alone and walk south on Market St.

At 11am that same day, she spoke to her family over the phone and told them she would have a late breakfast then head home to Penrith. But when she failed to return that night, her family reported her missing to Nepean Police Area Command, and created a Facebook page to seek help finding her.

Police spoke with Narde about Dr Reddy’s disappearance before he was killed in a “deliberate” head-on collision on the New England Highway at Willow Tree, south of Tamworth, about 10pm on Monday.

The following day, Dr Reddy’s car was found parked on the side of a road in Kingsford about 9.30pm. It’s understood her body was found in a suitcase inside the boot.

But Detective Superintendent Gavin Dengate cautioned against speculation as to what happened.

“We’re looking at the timeline of when they met up,” he said. “We’re still making inquiries. It is very difficult now, with what’s happened, to get that.”

“At this stage we know they met up in Sydney, now we’re looking at all the movements between those two to establish exactly what happened,” Detective Supt Dengate told reporters on Wednesday.

Investigators believe they know who killed Dr Reddy but are pleading for more information about her whereabouts before her death, including when and where she reconnected with her ex-boyfriend.

“It’s very important for us because, right now, we are working for Preethi and we are working for Preethi’s family as well,” he said.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636

megan.palin@news.com.au | @Megan_Palin