Muriel McKay: 'Boost' for family still searching for grandmother's body after meeting landowner
Muriel McKay died after she was held for ransom in 1969, with her captors mistaking her for Rupert Murdoch's then wife. After meeting her killer and having a chat with the owner of the land where she is believed to be buried, her family has renewed hope of finally finding her remains.
Friday 12 April 2024 23:16, UK
The family of murdered Muriel McKay say they've been given a boost in their campaign to search the farm where they believe her body is buried.
Mrs McKay's grandson Mark Dyer had threatened to sue landowner Ian Marsh for access, but when the two men met on a public footpath that runs through the farmyard, he was invited in for coffee and a chat.
Businessman Mr Dyer said afterwards: "If the police decide they aren't going to do a second dig, then I will come and speak to Ian because Ian and I now have a connection.
"He seems like the kind of guy I could have a sensible conversation with and maybe have some sort of resolution.
"I'm sure that he doesn't want this to continue forever. I think he knows that we're determined. I think we've made a lot of headway here today."
It was the first time Mr Dyer had visited the Hertfordshire farm where his grandmother was held ransom and died 55 years ago. Her body was never found. He was six at the time.
He said: "This is a place I was lectured about and told never to come to. This was the most evil place on earth to our family."
As we walked along a footpath towards the farm in the village of Stocking Pelham, he told me: "Actually, I'm sweating in my palms because it is a weird feeling to know that she's here and I haven't been allowed to pick her up. It's quite scary."
In January, Mr Dyer and his mother Dianne McKay, Mrs McKay's daughter, flew to the Caribbean to meet her killer Nizam Hosein, long deported to his native Trinidad after being freed from his life sentence.
They greeted each other warmly and sat down over old maps and photographs in a bid to identify the spot where Hosein said he buried Mrs McKay after she collapsed and died from a heart attack.
Hosein, 75, pointed to a spot behind a barn and said: "Two feet from the hedge, that's where the body is."
Mr Dyer arrived at the spot along a footpath that runs right through the farm and said: "I feel as though she's under me now.
"I mean, it brings tears to my eyes. I just want to extract her, take her away."
Moments later landowner Ian Marsh appeared, introduced himself and the two men disappeared into the farmhouse.
Hosein and his elder brother Arthur kidnapped Mrs McKay, 55, after mistaking her for Anna, the then wife of newspaper owner Rupert Murdoch. Mrs McKay was married to Alick McKay, Murdoch's deputy.
They held her at the farm, which Arthur owned, while they negotiated a £1m ransom with her family.
They were arrested after police followed their car and were later convicted of kidnap and murder in one of the first trials without a body.
Scotland Yard officers dug at the farm two years ago but found nothing. The family said they excavated the wrong area and urged them to search again.
The police are still undecided about a second dig because detectives visited Hosein themselves last month and found his memory "incoherent".
Read more:
Farm owner will let police search for Muriel McKay's body
Deported killer offers to return to UK to show where body is buried
Detective Superintendent Katherine Goodwin, of the Metropolitan Police's specialist crime department, said: "I fully empathise with Muriel's family and how desperate they are to recover her remains.
"We spoke with Muriel's family following their visit to Trinidad which led to detectives flying to Trinidad to make further enquiries alongside officers from Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.
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Tap here"The team have only recently returned from Trinidad and it is important that we appropriately assess all of the information we gathered following extensive interviews over three days. I also want to stress that we are keeping an open mind to all possible next steps.
"Once we have had time to review all of the material we have gathered we will provide Muriel's family with a full update."