Muriel McKay: Police to search for her remains after family met killer

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Muriel McKayImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

It is believed Muriel McKay was abducted as she arrived back at her Wimbledon home

A man who met his grandmother's killer in a bid to find where her body was hidden claims police have now agreed to search once again for her remains.

Muriel McKay was kidnapped in 1969 after being mistaken for the then-wife of Rupert Murdoch and held to ransom for £1m at a farm in Hertfordshire.

Last month, her family flew to Trinidad to meet one of her killers who told them where he had buried her body.

The Metropolitan Police said it was working to "determine its next steps".

Image source, Mark Randolph Dyer
Image caption,

Mark Randolph Dyer (left) travelled to Trinidad with his mother Dianne McKay to meet Muriel's murderer Nizamodeen Hosein

"The Metropolitan Police are 100% on board," Muriel's grandson Mark Randolph Dyer told the BBC after a meeting with detectives on Wednesday.

"They're checking our evidence which is reels and reels of videos.

"It's success everywhere but the main success will be finding her [Muriel] and putting an end to all this."

Mr Dyer said he was told by police that detectives would begin searching for Muriel's body "in the next few weeks" depending on ground conditions.

Image source, Sam Read/BBC
Image caption,

The Met Police searched an area of Stocking Farm in 2022 but nothing was found

Muriel McKay was the wife of Rupert Murdoch's deputy Alick McKay when she was abducted from her home in London on 29 December 1969.

Brothers Arthur and Nizamodeen Hosein were convicted of her kidnap and murder, but while Arthur died in prison in 2009, Nizamodeen was deported to Trinidad and Tobago after serving his sentence.

Mr Dyer, 59, and his mother Dianne McKay, 83, went to meet Nizamodeen last month and described the meeting as "difficult" but "a great success".

They said Hosein admitted kidnapping Muriel but claimed she died of a heart attack after seeing a TV appeal from her family.

They were also told in great detail which part of the farm Muriel's body was buried.

Image source, Bettmann
Image caption,

Brothers Arthur and Nizamodeen Hosein were convicted of Ms McKay's kidnap and murder

"Thank God that guy in Trinidad has come clean," Mr Dyer said. "He's also desperate for my mother to have her mother back whatever form she is.

"Very little of her will be there but it will be the end," he added.

Mr Dyer said the owner of the farm had been in touch to say he wanted to "cooperate fully" with the police's investigation.

The family want to find Muriel's body to give her a "burial she deserves".

Image source, Justin Dealey/BBC
Image caption,

Mark Randolph Dyer said finding Ms McKay's body would end a lifetime of anxiety

Det Supt Katherine Goodwin from the Met Police said: "We will now review and assess this information to determine the next steps in our investigation.

"We understand how frustrating and difficult this matter has been for Muriel's family and are still working to recover her remains."

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