Missing Indian-origin dentist’s body found in a suitcase in Australia

HYDERABAD: A 32-year-old dentist of Indian-origin Preethi Reddy was murdered in Sydney, Australia. Her ex-boyfriend Harshawardhan Narde, also a doctor, is suspect in the murder. Preethi Reddy’s body with multiple stabs was found in a suitcase in her abandoned car. Narde, 34 died in a car crash prior to Preethi’s body being found. New South Wales police believe that his BMW crash into a semi-trailer on Monday, a day after the murder, was deliberate by the victim himself.
Preethi’s family hails from Mahbubnagar of Telangana. Her father Narsasimha Reddy moved to Australia several years ago and is professor in Western Sydney University. He studied in Zilla Parishad High School at Yenmangandla in Mahbubnagar and got his doctorate from IIT Kanpur in ‘Magnetic Resonance”. Preethi was brought up in Sydney. When Preethi went missing from March 3, her family put out messages on social media for help. Her sister Nithya Reddy started an FB page “Help Find Preethi Reddy” to spread the message but after the police found her body she announced that “our dearest Preethi is no longer with us”.
Preethi was last seen on March 3 at 2.15am at Mc Donalds at Strand Arcade on George Street. She also spoke in the morning with the family at 11.06am on Sunday. “She gave no indication that anything was wrong,” Nithya Reddy, 28, who also lives in Sydney said. There was also video footage of her buying two water bottles at Mc Donalds.
New South Wales police who investigated the missing case, found that Preethi Reddy had visited the CBD hotel in which Harshwardhan Narde was staying. It is believed that Preethi was killed in the hotel room. After the murder, according to reports, he drove the car 7km south to Kingsford, when the car was left with the body dumped the body in the car’s boot.
It is said the police had also spoke to Narde about the missing Preethi. Subsequently, Narde was killed in a road mishap in which he was believed to have rammed his car into another vehicle. A dentist, he worked at Tamworth Oasis Dental Clinic.
Family members and relatives of Preethi in Hyderabad, in US and Australia took to the social media to put out messages to ask people for help to track her.
Sujana Santhapuram who lives in West Lafayette, Indiana, US said in a post: “One of our family members Preethi Reddy has been missing, she was last seen in Sydney, Australia on March 3rd. We are very concerned for her safety. If you are near that area and you know anything about her whereabouts please contact her sister Nithya Reddy.”
A colleague of Preethi Reddy, Robert Espino of Glenbrook in Sydney said, “Our fellow Dentist in Glenbrook Dr Preethi Reddy have been missing since March 3, 2019, Please help us find her by contacting the Police if you have any information about her where about. Thank You.”
Mounica Santhapur from Hyderabad informed that her sister Preethi had been missing since March 3 in Sydney and sought help in tracing her.
After the news of Preethi’s murder broke out, her family and friends were distraught. Nadia Saefudin who lives in Sydney said she went to school with Preethi and that she was shocked at what had happened with her.
Preethi Reddy's body was found stuffed in a suitcase in her car parked in an eastern Sydney street, New South Wales Police said.
Her ex-boyfriend has also died in a road accident that appeared deliberate, they said.
Reddy was last seen waiting in line at McDonald's in George Street on Sunday, the police said.
On Tuesday, the police found her car parked in Strachan Lane in Kingsford. Inside the car, they found her body in a suitcase, according to media reports.
Her body had been stabbed numerous times. She and her ex-boyfriend stayed in a hotel in Market Street in Sydney's CBD on Sunday, officials said.
Reddy was attending a dental conference in St Leonards at the weekend and last spoke to her family at around 11am on Sunday.
She told them that she would head home after breakfast, and when she failed to return, her family contacted police.
NSW Police described Reddy's disappearance as "out of character" and said there were serious concerns of her welfare.
Her work colleagues said they were "terrified" and had been unable to sleep since her disappearance.
"It's devastating, and this is completely out of character," dental assistant Chelsea Holmes of Glenbrook Dental Surgery was quoted as saying by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
"We got a call on Monday asking if she had turned up to work … and now we are just hoping and none of us have been able to sleep.
"I spoke to her last Thursday and it was 'see you next week' and completely normal," she said adding "Now I am just praying she will be found," Holmes said.
The NSW police said they were appealing for information in relation to her whereabouts.
Reddy attended a dental convention at St Leonards at the weekend, and last spoke with her family about 11am on Sunday, saying she planned to head home after having a late breakfast in Sydney, according to the police.
She was reported missing to Nepean Police Area Command later that night after she failed to arrive home, police added.
She was captured on CCTV inside the restaurant and appeared to leave alone a short time later.