Muriel McKay family welcomes new leads in body hunt

Muriel McKay was kidnapped and killed in 1969 but her body has never been found

The family of a woman murdered 56 years ago said a £1m reward for information had led to two "incredibly strong" leads in the search for her remains.

Muriel McKay, 55, was kidnapped in 1969, held to ransom and then killed at a farm in Hertfordshire, having been mistaken for the then-wife of Rupert Murdoch.

Her grandson Mark Dyer said they had received information suggesting her body could have been buried behind a shop in Bethnal Green Road, London and at a house in Buntingford, Hertfordshire.

He said they were meeting genuine people "with really tangible leads" and links to the brothers convicted of her kidnap and murder.

Mrs McKay's grandson Mark Dyer described the new leads as fantastic news

Arthur Hosein died in prison, while Nizamodeen Hosein later spoke to the McKay family, explaining where he had buried her.

The Metropolitan Police interviewed Hosein in 2024 and, despite scepticism about his account, carried out a third dig at Stocking Farm, near Bishop's Stortford but no human remains were found.

In one of the leads, a woman has come forward to say her father told her before he died that he employed Arthur Hosein at the tailor's shop he ran on Bethnal Green Road.

She described how a body had been stored at the property for 24 hours.

The father also employed a former Polish World War Two soldier "who was apparently heavily involved in disposing of the body" behind the shop.

Mr Dyer said he had informed his contact at the Metropolitan Police, who told him she would put someone on the case.

His lawyers have written to the shop owners and the tenants and they were ready with a scanning team.

Stocking Farm near Bishop's Stortford was last searched in 2022

Mr Dyer has also spoken to a woman in a care home in Hertfordshire.

She said her family used to live next door to a man in Buntingford who used to supply things to the Hoseins at Stocking Farm.

When she was 17 years old, she was woken at 01:00 by a thumping sound and saw him through her window digging with a storm lamp.

Her father said he reported it to the police but they dug in the wrong place.

"She is happy to come from her care home with her daughter and show the scanning team exactly where to scan," said Mr Dyer.

"If you look at this as a game, we are definitely getting round the board and we are throwing high-number dice now.

"Incredible, fantastic news".