Woman found shut in boot of her car

CANBERRA - Melbourne police were yesterday trying to unravel the mystery of a 50-year-old woman found unconscious and critically ill in the boot of her car four days after vanishing from her home.

Maria Korp remained in a coma yesterday and may not be able to speak to detectives for a week.

She was found, severely dehydrated, only when a forensic team examined her red Mazda 626 after it was spotted by a security guard on Sunday parked in a street near Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance.

It is not known whether the Melbourne woman had been in the boot for the full four days or if she had been kept elsewhere before being dumped.

Her husband, Joseph, was interviewed by police on Sunday and has been told he is a suspect, but he told reporters yesterday that he loved his wife, would never harm her and had nothing to do with her disappearance.

But he conceded the fact that Maria Korp had previously taken out a restraining order against him "does not look good".

Korp's family became concerned when she did not arrive for work last Wednesday, and failed to collect her son Damien after school.

Because of the highly unusual circumstances the case was immediately investigated by the homicide squad's missing persons unit.

Interviewed by Channel Seven on Sunday night, before news of the discovery was released, Joseph Korp said he was not involved and that he was deeply concerned: "Your stomach just keeps turning."

He later told reporters: "The police have put an order on me so I can't go and see my wife for the moment."

He said he was very disappointed at the move and did not know why the order had been made.

He had prayed for his wife's safe return and had barely eaten or slept since her disappearance.