Family bid to end 55 year agony by offering farm £40k to dig for grandma's body

11 January 2024 , 22:20

529     0

Family bid to end 55 year agony by offering farm £40k to dig for grandma's body

The family of a woman murdered 55 years ago have reportedly offered a landowner £40,000 to let them dig on the farm where they think she was buried.

Muriel McKay, 55, was kidnapped by men who thought she was tycoon Rupert Murdoch’s wife Anna. Her body was never found. Brothers Nizamodeen and Arthur Hosein were given life sentences for the 1969 murder.

Muriel, married to Murdoch’s deputy Alick McKay, was snatched from their home in Wimbledon, South-West London. Nizamodeen, now 75, allegedly told the McKays’ lawyer last year that he buried her on the farm where they held her at Stocking Pelham, Herts, but a search found nothing.

Muriel's daughter Dianne (Sky News)

Now living in his native Trinidad, where he was deported in 1990 after serving his jail term, he has offered to return to show ­Muriel’s daughter Dianne, 82, the burial site. The family have written to the owner of Stocking Farm offering £40,000 for permission for a fresh dig, The Times reported. The owners have always refused access but did let police dig up a small area last year.

Tycoon Rupert Murdoch’s then-wife Anna (Getty Images)

Muriel’s grandson Mark Dyer reportedly writes in the letter: “The perpetrator has admitted his part in this crime and genuinely wishes to help us find Muriel. Please assist us as we need to have closure on this tragedy.”

Man in 30s dies after being stabbed in park sparking police probe

Former Justice Secretary Sir Robert Buckland and former Solicitor General Sir Oliver Heald have called for police to obtain a search warrant for the farm. Speaking to her mother’s killer in a video call last November, Dianne said: “It’s hard for me to talk about this but if you can come and help us find my mother we’d be grateful.”

Hosein says he can still identify the site and wants a temporary lifting of his deportation order. Detectives are thought to be considering interviewing him before a deciding on this.

Tom Pettifor