Muriel McKay was kidnapped from outside her London home on 29 December 1969
By Louise Parry & Lewis Adams
BBC News, in Trinidad
A man jailed for the killing of Muriel McKay has told the BBC he is willing to come back to England and show her family where her body was buried.
Ms McKay, 55, was abducted from her home in 1969 and held to ransom for £1m at a farm in Hertfordshire.
Nizamodeen Hosein who was convicted of her kidnap and murder with his brother, Arthur, said he now wanted “to bring closure” for Ms McKay’s family.
Hosein was deported to Trinidad and Tobago after serving his sentence, while Arthur died in prison in 2009.
Image source, Louise Parry/BBC
Nizamodeen Hosein told the BBC he was “willing” to pinpoint where Ms McKay’s body was buried
Representatives from the Metropolitan Police have been on the Caribbean island this week to speak with Hosein who said officers previously dug for Ms McKay’s body in the wrong place.
They had undertaken vast searches of Rooks Farm – now known as Stocking Farm – near Bishop’s Stortford in 2022 but nothing was found.
‘Soul-destroying’
Hosein told the BBC he was “willing” to come to England to show the police where Ms McKay’s body was but said he had not yet formally been asked.
“I’m willing to give a resting place to the family, peace of mind – as you would say – to the family,” he said.
“I lost the best part of my life – I’m no longer a teenager, I’m an old so and so. It is soul destroying
Image source, Louise Parry/BBC
Met Police officers this week interviewed Hosein at Couva police station in Trinidad
Who was Muriel McKay?
Ms McKay was the wife of Alick McKay, Mr Murdoch’s deputy. The Australian couple had moved to Wimbledon, south London, in 1956.
She had three adult children and four grandchildren.
Image source, Sam Read/BBC
The Met Police searched an area of Stocking Farm in 2022 but nothing was found
Her kidnappers mistook her for Mr Murdoch’s wife at the time, Anna, in a bungled attempt to extort £1m on 29 December 1969.
Mr Murdoch had loaned the McKays his Rolls Royce, which led to the case of mistaken identity.
Image source, Bettmann
Brothers Arthur and Nizamodeen Hosein were convicted of Ms McKay’s kidnap and murder
‘Difficult’
Ms McKay’s grandson, Mark Randolph Dyer, 59, and his mother, Dianne McKay, 83, went to meet Nizamodeen in January and described the meeting as “difficult” but also “a great success”.
They said Nizamodeen admitted kidnapping Ms McKay but claimed she died of a heart attack after seeing a TV appeal from her family.
They were also told in specific detail which part of the farm her body was buried.
Det Supt Katherine Goodwin has said police had “reviewed and assessed” information gathered by the family of Ms McKay to “determine the next steps in our investigation, which includes whether a further search is appropriate”.
“We remain in contact with the family and will keep them updated,” she added.
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