Police prepare to search farmland for remains of Muriel McKay who was kidnapped and held to ransom 53 years ago by brothers who mistook her for Rupert Murdoch’s wife
- Muriel McKay was killed after being mistaken for Rupert Murdoch’s wife
- Her killer, Nizamodeen Hosein, revealed location where he buried her last month
- Mrs McKay’s family have been using ground-penetrating radar in search
- They presented detectives with evidence showing disturbance in the area
- Police are preparing to search an area of land at Stocking Pelham, Hertfordshire
Police are preparing to search farmland for the remains of Muriel McKay who was kidnapped and held to ransom 53 years ago by two brothers who mistook her for Rupert Murdoch’s wife.
Police met with the landowner this week after Nizamodeen Hosein, who was convicted of murdering Mrs McKay alongside his brother Arthur, revealed last month where he buried her.
Officers are preparing to search a small area beneath a dung heap behind a barn at Stocking Pelham, formerly known as Rooks Farm, Hertfordshire.
Mrs McKay’s family previously employed a ground-penetrating radar specialist and presented detectives with evidence showing a disturbance in the area where Hosein said he buried her.
Banker and landowner Ian Marsh had previously denied the family access but said he would co-operate with a search of the farm if police asked him.
Hosein and his brother Arthur demanded a £1million ransom for Australian Mrs McKay, 55, who was married to Alick McKay – deputy to Mr Murdoch in the UK.
Muriel McKay (pictured in 1969), died in a bungled kidnapping after being mistaken for Rupert Murdoch’s wife
Nizamodeen Hosein, who was convicted of murdering Mrs McKay alongside his brother Arthur, revealed last month where he buried her
Stocking Pelham, Hertfordshire, where Mrs McKay’s killer Nizamodeen Hosein revealed last month he buried her more than 50 years ago
Police have announced they have agreement from the land owner to conduct a search of farmland in the hunt for the remains of Mrs McKay
In agony at the police delay in responding to their findings, Mrs McKay’s daughter Dianne, 82, said: ‘We can only wait to see what the police’s next move is. There’s nothing we can do now to make them hurry up. But it’s an unnecessary delay.
‘Can you imagine 52 years later, I find my mother? I would just like to go and get her out of there. She’s been there too long.’
In a letter to the Metropolitan Police, Dianne said she and her sister, 85, hoped ‘that after 52 years of pain, we can finally obtain some closure’.
In response, Dame Cressida Dick, the head of the Metropolitan Police said her investigation team was ‘exploring every opportunity available’.
In a hand-written personal sign off, Dame Cressida wrote: ‘Yours sincerely and with every good wish’.
Dianne McKay said the letter was a ‘welcome surprise’ and the fact Dame Cressida was taking a personal interest showed the ‘investigation is moving forward’.
Mrs McKay was mistaken for Rupert Murdoch’s wife Anna Murdoch (pictured in 1988)
In December 1969 the Hosein brothers followed Mr Murdoch’s chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce, unaware the media tycoon had lent it to Mr McKay while he was in Australia.
They forced their way into the McKay house in Wimbledon, south-west London, and bundled the terrified mother into a car, driving her to the Hertfordshire farm, owned by Arthur at the time.
Mrs McKay, who they mistook for Anna Murdoch, was never seen alive again.
The brothers were later sentenced to life in the UK’s first conviction for a murder without a body.
Arthur died in jail in 2009.
In December, Hosein, who was deported to Trinidad after serving 20 years, pinpointed to Matthew Gayle, a British barrister hired by the McKay family, where her body was buried.
He claims no violence was used and Mrs McKay died from a heart attack while watching a TV news report about her kidnapping.
The family of Mrs McKay presented detectives with evidence from ground-penetrating radar technology showing a disturbance in the area where Hosein says he buried her
Rupert Murdoch pictured alongside second wife Anna. The burglars killed Mrs McKay, who they took for Anna Murdoch
In January, the family hired experts to use radar to examine her presumed grave.
Although the farm’s owner denied access, the experts were able to aim a radar beam from a public footpath with Hosein directing the team via video call.
John Trust, a specialist surveyor who has also worked on the Moors Murders, said: ‘The radar showed that the ground had been interfered with – there was evidence of some trenching which could indicate that somebody had dug a hole to bury something. It went down to about 5ft.
‘It definitely warrants further investigation because it was virgin ground and somebody has done something there.’
In a statement issued to Sky News, Mr Marsh’s spokeswoman said: ‘Mr Marsh is in regular conversation with the Metropolitan Police over this matter and is fully cooperating with their investigation.
‘He very much sympathises with the family and hope they can find closure over this tragedy. He now asks for privacy while the police complete their investigation.’
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