Highlights
- Dr Preethi Reddy was killed by her ex-boyfriend in March 2019
- Dr Harshwardhan Narde drove his car into an oncoming truck a day later
- The coroner has called Dr Reddy’s death as ‘tragic and horrifying’
An inquest into Dr Reddy’s death has revealed the Sydney dentist was stabbed and bashed to death in a hotel by her former partner, Dr Harshwardhan Narde in March 2019.
‘She died as a result of the combined effects of blunt force head injury and stab wounds to the neck and back,” Magistrate Carmel Forbes, Deputy State Coroner wrote in her findings.
‘The circumstances of Dr Reddy’s death are truly tragic and horrifying,’ she said.
Preethi was ‘a treasured daughter’ of Indian migrants
Dr Reddy was the treasured daughter of Dr Narismha Reddy and Mrs Sucharitha Reddy and was the older sister of Dr Nithya Reddy.
‘She was born in India and her family migrated to Sydney in 1996 when she was aged nine. Dr Reddy grew up in a traditional Indian family. They had very close relationships,’ the coroner found.
After finishing high school, Dr Reddy returned to India to study dentistry and in 2010 she graduated as a qualified dentist.
She then returned to Australia and commenced the Overseas Trained Dentist Course which she completed in late 2013 early 2014.
Source: Facebook
On-off relationship with Harshwardhan Narde
Dr Reddy met and commenced a relationship with Dr Narde during her course at the Royal Melbourne Dental Hospital. Dr Narde was a practising dentist then.
Dr Reddy’s sister Nithya who met Dr Narde around May 2014 observed when they were together Dr Reddy was not her normal bubbly self.
‘After an argument in 2015, Dr Reddy and Dr Narde were in an ‘on again off again relationship’, the coroner found.
Dr Reddy lived in Sydney with her parents while Dr Narde worked in Tamworth.
In November 2018, Dr Reddy commenced a new relationship. Her new partner lived in Melbourne.
‘Dr Reddy had started plans to move to Melbourne and had been successful in gaining employment in Melbourne,’ the coroner found.
32-year-old Sydney dentist Preethi Reddy. Source: AAP
Preethi Reddy’s last 24 hours
The coroner’s findings have traced Dr Reddy’s last 24 hours before she was stabbed to death by her ex-partner Dr Narde.
The two met at a two-day dental conference in Sydney on March 1, 2019, which finished on March 2, 2019.
‘CCTV footage shows that at 6:22 pm Dr Reddy drove her vehicle out of the underground car park of the hotel. At the time a person was seated in the front passenger seat,’ the coroner found.
Dr Reddy’s vehicle is then seen entering a car park in Crows Nest at 8:32 pm where the CCTV footage captures both Dr Reddy and Dr Narde getting out of the car.
The duo visited the Ravvi’s Cumin Restaurant in Crows Nest where the owner observed they were not a couple.
It appeared to him that they entered the restaurant to talk rather than eat.
The pair re-entered the car park area at about 10:32 pm and exited it around 12.32 am.
They then drove to the city and parked at Market Street.
‘Dr Reddy then left the vehicle and walked to George Street and purchased two bottles of water at McDonald's and then returned to her car where Dr Narde was waiting,’ the coroner found.
A couple of hours later, they entered the Swissotel where Dr Narde had booked a room at this hotel the day before.
CCTV footage of 32-year-old Sydney dentist Preethi Reddy on 6 March, 2019. Source: Supplied
Dr Narde had a carry on suitcase and Dr Reddy was carrying a small black backpack.
Records show they entered the hotel room at 3:06 am.
‘The following morning at 10:57 am, Dr Reddy called her father and told him she was going to have breakfast then drive home. At 11:06 am Dr Reddy called her partner and told him she had been with her friends the night before and that her phone had run out of battery. She told him that she loved him.
‘This is the last time Dr Reddy is known to be alive,’ the coroner found.
Dr Narde’s ‘heinous act’
On March 3, Dr Narde left the hotel around 1.51 pm, bought and ate a meal at a nearby food court, bought a large suitcase, garbage bags and returned to the hotel.
Around 3.30 pm, he again walked out and bought towels and cleaning products from a nearby Woolworths.
Around 4.45 pm, he left the hotel with the large luggage bag he had just bought.
Hotel staff helped him load his bags on the trolley and he lifted the bags into the boot of Dr Reddy’s car which he left it on a street in Kingsford.
He later hired a vehicle and drove to Tamworth.
Dr Narde visited and recorded a statement twice, first at 11 am and a second time at 4 pm at the Tamworth Police Station. Source: Facebook
Dr Narde was ‘nervous’, ‘anxious’ and ‘flustered’ during police statement
While Dr Narde was on his way to Tamworth, the coroner found Nithya got in touch with him to determine her sister’s whereabouts.
Over the next few hours, Dr Narde in a couple of phone calls told Nithya he had dinner with Preethi after the conference and before they parted.
After learning this, Nithya urged Dr Narde to attend Tamworth Police Station and tell them what he knew about Dr Reddy’s last known movements.
The coroner found Dr Narde visited and recorded a statement twice, first at 11 am and a second time at 4 pm at the Tamworth Police Station.
Both times he appeared anxious, nervous and flustered to the police officer who took his statement.
Later that evening at about 9:43 pm on 4 March 2019, Dr Narde drove his vehicle into an oncoming truck.
‘I accept the determination made by the investigation that this was a deliberate act by Dr Narde to end his life. Dr Narde did not survive the collision. No one else was injured in the collision,’ the coroner found.
Preethi Reddy’s body located in Sydney
Next day, the police located Dr Reddy’s car in Kingsford and found her body in the suitcase, which had been purchased by Dr Narde.
‘Upon examination of the hotel room, police located Dr Reddy’s blood in the bathroom,’ the coroner found.
The scene where the body of Sydney dentist Preethi Reddy was found by police at Strachan Lane in Kingsford in Sydney, Wednesday, March 6, 2019. Source: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
Magistrate Carmel Forbes, Deputy State Coroner concluded, ‘I am satisfied that Dr Narde took her life in the bathroom of the hotel room sometime after her last call at 11:06 am to her new partner. Dr Narde’s actions subsequent to that time are consistent with him attempting to conceal his heinous act.’
‘There is ample evidence that supports the opinion expressed by Dr Reddy’s sister, Nithya, that Dr Reddy was with Dr Narde that night trying to be compassionate and understanding towards him and trying to give him closure on their ended relationship.’
‘Seek help and know your rights’
From the coroner’s report, Dr Narde comes across as ‘possessive’ showing a strong aspect of ‘controlling behaviour’, Ms Jatinder Kaur, a renowned social worker who is doing her PhD in Family Violence within the Indian community, told SBS Hindi.
“Preethi was a qualified dentist, highly-skilled, independent woman who chose her own life partner. While Dr Narde appears to show strong patriarchal mindset – possessive and showing strong aspect of controlling behaviour. It appears as if he couldn’t accept Preethi had moved on.
“Preethi perhaps did not think that an educated man like Dr Narde would go to such an extent. This goes on to show that violence occurs among all demographies.
“I urge women to call 1800-RESPECT if they feel they are under threat. Please seek help. Please find out what are your legal rights and the choices you have. Help is available. If you don’t speak English, you can ask for translating and interpreting services,” she said.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.
Readers seeking support with mental health can contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636. More information is available at Beyond Blue.org.au. Embrace Multicultural Mental Health supports people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
