Family of Muriel McKay say they 'won't give up' looking for her body
She was kidnapped and murdered in 1969, and is said to be buried on a Hertfordshire farm
Last updated 2nd Oct 2024
The family of Muriel McKay, who was kidnapped and murdered in 1969 and whose body was never found, have reached out to the Metropolitan Police in the hope for their help finding her remains.
A fresh search for her body was agreed upon and carried out by the Met Police last July, but it was proved unsuccessful.
While the Met Police had informed the family the dig would be the third and final, Muriel's loved ones insist the only way for the search to be carried out with utmost precision would be with the presence of Muriel's deported killer, Nizamodeen Hosein.
Mark Dyer, Muriel's grandson, said: "It's unfair to put my family through this torture.
"The thing is, they've given seven days to do a job that might have to take seven weeks. Without the perpetrator, it's completely pointless.
"We're hoping that Mark Rowley might see this, the Chief of Police, and just say 'look, this is never going to end for us. When is this going to end?'
"Well, the answer is it's never going to end for him. Unless they can say 'ok, just get a warrant. Go in there with this and finish it'. That's what they need to do.
"Are we gonna give up? No, of course we're not giving up."
What happened to Muriel McKay?
Muriel was kidnapped from her Wimbledon home 54 years ago by two criminal brothers, Arthur and Nizamodeen Hosein.
She was mistaken for newspaper giant Rupert Murdoch's wife, of which the brothers had plotted the kidnap, demanding a £1 million ransom in exchange for her release.
While they detained the wrong woman, whose husband was a business associate of Murdoch, they still carried out their planned crime.
Several failed attempts at a ransom exchange later, the brothers were arrested, but Muriel was never found.
Both were sentenced at the Old Bailey to life in prison, and upon his release, Nizamodeen was deported to Trinidad.
What led to fresh searches for her body?
Decades went by before Muriel's family, who never gave up on finding her, started working a Barrister in Trinidad, Matthew Gayle, who was able to make contact with Nizamodeen Hosein, with whom he built a trusted relationship.
While the Met Police agreed to a second search for her remains in 2022, after a first unsuccessful search in 1970, her body was not found and the search concluded.
Last December, Nizamodeen signed an affidavit detailing exactly where he believes Muriel to be buried on a farm in Stocking Pelham, Hertfordshire, where the brothers are said to have detained her after her kidnap.
This led to a series of communications between the family and the Met Police, soon followed by the family's visit to Trinidad to gather filmed and recorded information from Muriel's killer, who gave consistent accounts on her burial location.
Shortly after, officers from the Met Police travelled to Trinidad to record their own evidence, which led to what they said would be a 'third and final' search of the farmland in Hertfordshire.
Last July, the search was carried out, but after 7 days, it was called off after the Met Police informed the family the search area agreed upon had been dug up and no evidence of Muriel's remains was found.
Previously speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, Muriel's family expressed their frustration regarding the third dig, insisting that Nizamodeen Hosein should have had his deportation order lifted to travel to Hertfordshire and assist Police in their dig.
Why was her killer not allowed to contribute in the search?
Nizamodeen Hosein was deported to Trinidad after serving his life sentence for Muriel's murder in a landmark conviction, as her body was never found.
The deportation order was imposed by the Home Office, who would require police to request the order to be lifted for him to return to England.
While the Metropolitan Police gathered evidence from Nizamodeen ahead of the third search, they informed the family they would not be reaching out to the Home Office, and he would therefore be unable to assist in the search.
What is Muriel's family now hoping for?
Almost three months after the search, Muriel's family said they would not be giving up, and highlighted what their identified as gaps in the Met Police's search and communication with them.
Amongst those was a picture of the area searched in 2022, which the family said was not the full extent of the area agreed upon, which has led them to believe Muriel could still be buried on the farmland.
Writing to the family, Detective Superintendent Katherine Goodwin, Specialist Crime, who was in charge of the case, was said to have agreed that having Nizamodeen Hosein present at the dig would benefit the search, but he was never allowed to travel back to England.
The family expressed their frustration at the Met Police's operation.
Mark Dyer said: "We were never meant to see this; this is 2022. It was never finished, and maybe she's in the 2022 area. But we'll never find out. They signed this job off.
"You can end all this now in the next two or three weeks. Let him in and we're done. You've already invited him in writing. Well, let's be good on that invite."
While they are hoping for a fresh search of the farmland, the family would be unable to arrange it without a search warrant from the Met Police.
They are now seeking their help again, and have issued them with a detailed communication highlighting what they believe to be inconsistencies with the search carried out.
Mark Dyer said: "It was the first time someone was kidnapped in Britain in 150 years. It's the first time someone's been sent to prison for life without without a body.
"So why could it not be a first time that a kidnapper, someone served life in prison, is allowed to come over and show you the grave?"
They are further hoping Nizamodeen will be allowed back into the country to assist in a search, who they believe to be the valuable asset missing in the previous three unsuccessful searches.
What does the Metropolitan Police say?
Detective Superintendent Katherine Goodwin, Specialist Crime, previously said: “After eight days of searching unfortunately we have not been able to find Muriel’s remains. We all shared a hope and desire we would find her burial site and bring some closure to her family and I am so sorry we have not been able to do that. This is not the outcome any of us wanted.
“The parameters for the search were set following very careful examination of all the evidence and information gathered by the investigation team, which included speaking to Muriel’s family and interviewing Nizamodeen Hosein in Trinidad. We are extremely grateful to the property owners for allowing us to search the land, causing considerable disruption to their daily lives.
“We have searched all the areas identified as the possible site for Muriel’s remains, including all of the former manure heap, and far beyond. This follows a search carried out at the farm in spring 2022 which unfortunately was also unsuccessful. We can conclusively say the information given by Hosein in the last two years is not correct, Muriel is not at the location he has indicated.
“We know questions have been raised about why we have not brought Hosein to the UK to assist with the search. Our view has always been that we do not believe it would provide us with beneficial information and therefore we would not formally approach the Home Office who would be required to grant permission.
“We carefully reviewed this decision during the search and, based on Hosein’s reliability as a witness and the likelihood of a successful outcome, we stand by our original decision.
“As we have said previously, Muriel’s family are aware it would not be proportionate to carry out any further searches and that our investigation is now at an end. We are saddened that we were unable to bring them the closure they so desperately long for.”