Police in Brazil have seized the best friend of a glamorous nightclub owner and her personal driver after she was found murdered in her car with 11 stab wounds.

Civil Police said victim Thais Rocha Secundino, 28, was found dead in the passenger seat of her own car in Sao Paulo on 3rd February.

She had 11 stab wounds to her neck, belly, and back.

Two suspects – Cintia Maria Feliciano Peixe, 31, and Leandro Aparecido dos Santos, 45 – were seized over the brutal killing the next day.

When questioned, they denied any involvement.

Police say Peixe was among Thais’s best friends and worked at the off-licence she owned.

Dos Santos, they say, was her driver.

Civil Police chief Ivalda Aleixo believes Thais was killed after meeting Peixe to talk about an alleged theft of funds from the business.

Aleixo told local media: “The principal suspicion is that the crime was committed over issues involving alleged embezzlement.

“The victim’s boyfriend said Thais had gone to meet this friend to confront her, but then she did not return home.”

In addition to the off-licence, Thais also reportedly owned a nightclub in Sao Paulo.

Her last Instagram post before her death read: “The light that guides me is much stronger than the eyes that surround me.”

Police are treating the case as murder.

Aleixo said: “We went to the crime scene thinking it was a robbery, but nothing was stolen from the victim.”

She said of the suspects: “They deny the crime, but we have strong clues that both participated in the murder of the businesswoman.”

Thais’s parked car has been seized, as well as the suspects’ mobile phones.

Aleixo said: “We are still trying to find out who ordered the crime and who the perpetrator was or if both detainees stabbed the victim.”