The psychologist who was found dead and tied up in a car boot last year took her own life and made it look like murder to avoid the shame of suicide, say cops.

The case initially baffled investigators, who were unable to say if Marilda Matias Ferreira dos Santos, 37, had taken her own life or had been murdered.

It was her husband who found her dead body in their car boot in the city of Pouso Alegre in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais on the morning of 22nd August 2021.

The Civil Police (Brazil’s investigative police force) did not initially know if they were dealing with a murder or a suicide.

On the one hand, the victim’s body was dressed in cycling gear, tied up, and in the boot of a car. On the other hand, her body showed no signs of violence.

Even over a week after the grim discovery, on 30th August, police spokesman Renato Gaviao said it was still not possible to speak of Marilda’s “murder or suicide”.

However, a post-mortem went on to find alcohol and a barbiturate – a drug that acts as a central nervous system depressant – in the victim’s system.

And her notebooks, notes and diaries, which were taken from her house by the police for analysis, pointed to a predisposition to suicide and signs of depression.

Furthermore, the police determined through CCTV footage, vehicle detection and mobile phone location that her husband was not at the scene at the time.

Police spokesman Rodrigo Bartoli said: “All of these elements allowed us to conclude that she committed suicide and set up this scene to demonstrate that it was a crime.

“Because she didn’t have the courage to commit suicide in front of her patients or society, so she wanted to hide the fact and show she was murdered.

“However, she in no way tried to incriminate her own husband. The Judiciary has now said it will shelve the case.”