Muriel McKay declared dead after 56 years
A woman kidnapped for ransom in 1969 was officially declared dead by a Supreme Court judge.
Muriel McKay was held hostage at Rooks Farm in Stocking Pelham, Hertfordshire, by two brothers who were later jailed for murder. The kidnappers thought she was Rupert Murdoch’s wife at the time.
After receiving a tip this year, the McKay family requested to use a scanner to search for his body behind a shop in east London. said homeowners were denied access.
They hope her obituary will help them obtain an injunction to formally search for Ms. McKay’s remains.
The declaration was delivered to the Supreme Court on Monday by Chief Master Karen Shuman.
He issues “letters of administration” to Mrs. McKay’s son and daughter “for the limited purpose of retrieving the body of Muriel Frieda McKay.”
Ms McKay’s son Ian told Radio 4’s Today programme: “The High Court’s decision now allows us to proceed with what we believe, what I believe, is generally the most important lead we have had throughout the whole investigation.”
“I am 83 years old now and would love to get a definitive answer on this matter.
“We feel like we owe it to him. We feel cheated because we were never able to help him at that time.”
Arthur and Nizamodeen Hosein were found guilty of the kidnapping and murder of Ms McKay.
Muriel was married to Rupert Murdoch’s aide Alick McKay and was kidnapped after being mistaken for Mr Murdoch’s then-wife.
Arthur died in prison, but Nizamodeen told Mrs McKay’s daughter Dianne that he buried his body at Rooks Farm.
But three Searches in the field were fruitless..
The 2024 search of Stocking Farm, formerly Rooks Farm, “covered a large area” and the Met Police said no further searches would be carried out [Steve Hubbard/BBC]
Following the £1 million reward offer, a brother and sister told the family that Arthur worked in their late father’s tailor shop in Bethnal Green.
They claimed their father confessed on his deathbed his fears that Hosein and another man were hiding a body in the garden behind his shop, and described smelling a “bad smell” one night.
They said their father was involved in criminal gangs in London, including the Kray twins.
The McKays had hoped to use scanning technology to search the garden and then dig it up if successful, but were denied permission to do so by the landowners.
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