Police have suspected suicide to be the cause of death in the case of a Pudong New Area woman whose severely decomposed body was found in her car over the weekend, local media reported Sunday.

A security guard found the body Saturday evening after smelling a foul odor and seeing some blood around a car in the compound's parking lot, according to a report on the news portal xinmin.cn Sunday.

He then reported his discovery to police, who sent officers to the scene.

Forensic investigators found a body in the car's backseat, the report said.

There were no obvious injuries on her body.

The investigators determined that she died of carbon monoxide poisoning by burning charcoal and letting the fumes fill the car until she suffocated.

Neighbors identified the woman as a resident of the compound, local media reported.

She was last seen about eight days ago.

The car's windows were covered by sun shields, which prevented most of the compound's security guards and residents from seeing the body.

The woman's husband had been away on a business trip when the suicide took place, local media reported. He told police that his wife suffered from psychological problems a year ago and had suicidal tendencies, local media reported Sunday.

Police found a suicide note in the woman's apartment, but did not reveal its contents, local media reported.

The case remains under investigation.