What happened to Muriel McKay?
The investigation into the murder of Muriel McKay will continue this month, more than 50 years since she was tragically killed in Hertfordshire.
The 55-year-old was mistaken for Rupert Murdoch’s wife, Anna Murdoch, and was kidnapped with a demand for £1 million in ransom.
Her husband Alick worked as a newspaper executive for Murdoch’s News Limited. Their family moved from South Australia to London in 1958.
Kidnappers, Nizamodeen Hosein and his brother Arthur kidnapped Muriel McKay in 1969 and held her at a farm in Hertfordshire.
They broke into her and her husband’s home in Wimbledon on December 29th, 1969 and abducted her.
Her husband returned home that evening and quickly alerted the police. The phone had been ripped off the wall, but it was then repaired. An anonymous caller phoned Mr McKay at 1:00 am and demanded £1 million.
He identified himself as ‘M3’ and made 18 more phone calls over the next 40 days.
He threatened to kill Muriel if they didn’t hand over the money. The brothers forced Muriel to write letters for her family to prove she was still alive and pieces of her clothing were including in the letters.
A major police investigation unfolded and led them to Rooks Farm in Stocking Pelham, Hertfordshire.
A phone call was made from a nearby telephone box claiming Muriel had been killed, but her body has never been found.
The body of Muriel McKay was never found
Both Arthur and Nizamodeen were jailed for the kidnapping and murder of Muriel McKay. Arthur died in prison, but Nizamodeen was deported Trinidad and Tobago after he completed his sentence.
This week, officers began searching for her body at Rooks Farm in Hertfordshire.
The case had gone cold but their daughter, Dianne, visited Nizamodeen in January 2024 and he confirmed they buried her mother on the farm.
Police searched the property in 2022, but the family said they had limited information.
However, they started searching for her body again this week “for completeness”.
Hosein told the BBC that he is willing to fly to England to show the family where Muriel was buried.
“I’m willing to give a resting place to the family, peace of mind – as you would say,” he said.
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