A three-month search for a missing Marylebone millionairess came to an end over the weekend when her body was found badly decomposed in a garage lock-up.

�Carole Waugh’s body was discovered in the boot of a blue VW Golf in New Malden, southwest London, on Friday with a single stab wound, after a police tip-off.

It is not known how long the 50-year-old’s body had been there, following her disappearance on April 16.

Det Ch Insp John McFarlane, who is leading the investigation, said: “The vehicle is a blue VW Golf, registration number W466 NHL. We need to hear from anyone with information on the car, particularly since April this year.

“Anyone who can assist us on where it has been since then, or can advise on anyone with a connection to it, should come forward.”

�650,000 flat

Ms Waugh, who had worked in the oil industry in Libya, had not been seen since boarding a train to travel from her family home in Durham to her �650,000 flat in Harrowby Street, Marylebone.

Homicide and serious crime detectives took over the investigation when it emerged that the oil executive’s bank account had been plundered of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

A gang of fraudsters had also allegedly tried to let out her flat, with one accused of masquerading as her brother Chris Waugh.

Officers are also exploring the possibility that Ms Waugh led a double life.

While her family believed she was a successful businesswoman, detectives are looking into evidence that she could have worked as an escort in London.

Ten people have been arrested in relation to Ms Waugh’s disappearance, which has been treated as a murder investigation since last week.