Murdered mother Muriel McKay could be buried behind a betting shop in East London, police have admitted.
Mrs McKay was abducted in December 1969 by Arthur and Nizamodeen Hosein, who had mistaken her for the wife of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.
In the bungled ransom plot, the Hosein brothers demanded £1million, but despite attempts by Mrs McKay’s family to pay the money, she was killed.
In 2022 and 2024, police excavations at the farm in Hertfordshire where Mrs McKay was held and then murdered failed to uncover any trace of her remains.
This week a High Court judge formally declared Mrs McKay dead, clearing the way for her relatives to get legal backing to carry out a search for her remains.
Mrs McKay’s family have been pursuing a confession by an East End tailor that her body was secretly moved from what was then called Rooks Farm just days after she was killed and then re-buried in the garden of his shop in Bethnal Green.
The family want to use ground-penetrating radar to scan the garden behind what is now a branch of gambling chain Betfred, but police have refused to issue a warrant to allow the probe to take place.
In a letter sent to Mrs McKay’s son Ian last Friday, November 7, a detective superintendent at the Metropolitan Police said it is ‘not appropriate’ to apply for a search warrant or to ‘commit police resources to an excavation’.
But they admitted that Arthur Hosein ‘had a connection to this premises and it was likely that he had access during the relevant time period’.
The officer goes on to say that it ‘is possible’ Mrs McKay is buried there and confirms: ‘The information that there was a smell could indicate the presence of human remains’.
Murdered mother Muriel McKay could be buried behind a betting shop in East London, police have admitted. Mrs McKay was abducted in December 1969 by Arthur and Nizamodeen Hosein, who had mistaken her for the wife of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch
The East End tailor, Percy Chaplin, made his children swear that they would not come forward with the information until his death over fears there would be repercussions.
He passed away in 2022 aged 98.
Arthur Hosein, who is now also dead, worked for Chaplin at his tailoring shop.
The police’s mention of a smell is a reference to how both of Mr Chaplin’s children have said they remember a bad odour emanating from the yard after Mrs McKay is believed to have been killed.
Earlier this year, the McKay family offered a £1million reward – the same sum the Hosein brothers demanded 56 years ago – for information that would lead to the discovery of Muriel’s remains.
But Muriel’s grandson, Mark Dyer, stressed that they were alerted to Mr Chaplin’s revelations by his children before the reward was made public.
He told the Daily Mail this week: ‘Bethnal Green Road is definitely as hot a lead as Rooks Farm, and we’ve got someone [Mr Chaplin’s daughter] who’s given us an affidavit saying, “this is what my dad told me”.’
‘Why would they come out now and just prejudice themselves before the reward was offered, by the way, so there’s no correlation with that.
‘They came out because their dad told them something.’
Brothers Arthur (left) and Nazamodeen Hosein were found guilty of Mrs McKay’s kidnap and murder following a trial at the Old Bailey in London
Nizamodeen, who was deported to his home country of Trinidad after serving his sentence, went on to meet Mrs McKay’s daughter Dianne and her son Mr Dyer
The family want to use ground-penetrating radar to scan the garden behind what is now a branch of gambling chain Betfred, but police have refused to issue a warrant to allow the probe to take place
The Hosein brothers were caught and sentenced to life in prison in 1970, but refused to say where Mrs McKay’s body was.
Nizamodeen, who was deported to his home country of Trinidad after serving his sentence, went on to meet Mrs McKay’s daughter Dianne and her son Mr Dyer.
He directed them to the spot where he claimed Mrs McKay was buried at what is now Stocking Farm in Stocking Pelham, near Stanstead.
But all recent police searches, as well as one back in 1970, failed to find anything.
Mrs McKay’s family put the revelations about the garden at Bethnal Green Road to Nizamodeen but he denied any knowledge of her having been re-buried.
Mr Chaplin’s son and daughter reported their father’s revelations to police in 2023, but officers did not tell the McKay family at the time.
In last week’s letter to Mrs McKay’s son Ian, who is now 83 and lives in Australia, the officer apologised for the oversight.
She said: ‘I am sorry if you did not know this at the time. We had been told that the family had been informed, although I understand this may have not made its way to you.’
The abduction was a case of mistaken identity – with the kidnappers intending to seize Anna Murdoch, second wife of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch
The McKay family were furious at the oversight.
Mr Dyer said: ‘They really didn’t take it any further. They didn’t tell us. So they left us in the dark. And so this is why we’re where we are today.’
The police’s letter continued: ‘The information has not changed since it was submitted to us in 2023.
‘It was reviewed and assessed at this time by the investigation team.
‘It is clear that the defendant had a connection to this premises and it was likely that he had access during the relevant time period.
‘The information that there was a smell could indicate the presence of human remains, however our review noted that the informant did not notice any disturbed soil or digging, although of course this account is impossible to explore further as the informant is deceased.
‘While we acknowledge that it is possible Muriel McKay could be at this location, the information available does not meet the legal threshold of “reasonable grounds to believe” required for a search warrant.
‘Unfortunately we have concluded that the information relating to [the address] could also not be further developed.’
Police carried out a third search for Mrs McKay’s body in July 2024 but were again unsuccessful – despite one of her killers providing information about her potential whereabouts
The officer added: ‘Our view remains that ground scanning in an area such as the back yard is highly likely to show multiple disturbances in the soil, resulting in a requirement to excavate.
‘Unfortunately, given the assessment of this information, which cannot be further developed or corroborated, it is not appropriate to apply for a search warrant or commit further resources to an excavation.’
However, the police did say that if a search does take place and ‘human remains are discovered by any party’, the police would need to be ‘immediately informed’.
The Bethnal Green address overlooks a telephone box that the brothers instructed the family to use when they were demanding ransom money.
As well as the BetFred outlet, there are two maisonettes. Each have access rights to the yard.
The McKay family have approached the owners of the flats, though Mr Dyer claims he has only communicated directly with one of the flat owners.
They have refused to allow access to enable a non-invasive search using ground-penetrating radar.
Detectives launched a murder hunt 1969 and scoured Stocking Farm in Stocking Pelham, Hertfordshire, at the time
In September, £5,000 was offered to the flat owner in exchange for allowing access. Mr Dyer says the offer was rejected.
Without the flat owners’ permission, the family resorted to court action, but discovered they would not be able to obtain an injunction without a formal death declaration.
This was obtained at the High Court on Monday. Judge Karen Shuman granted the McKay family what is known as a limited grant of letters of administration.
They now have the legal standing to pursue court action that, if successful, would allow them access to the yard.
According to The Times, the judge said: ‘It’s quite clear, very sadly, Muriel has died, and died in dreadful circumstances.
‘Given the very unusual and sad circumstances of this case I consider it appropriate to make a limited grant. I am prepared to make that grant and make that now.’
Speaking of the judge’s decision, Ian McKay told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday: ‘Obviously it is a little bit late in the day. I mean she would have been 110 at this stage.
‘It just basically, the decision by the High Court now allows us to proceed with what we believe, what I believe, what we believe generally, is the hottest lead we have had in the entire investigation, without a doubt.’
Both flat owners declined to comment.
A Met spokesman said: ‘Our thoughts remain with Muriel’s family.
‘Our investigation into the death of Muriel McKay involved extensive enquiries, including searches in 2022 and 2024.’
Mrs McKay’s husband Alick was a newspaper executive who worked for Mr Murdoch.
The native Australians lived in Wimbledon, south London. Mrs McKay was snatched from her home.
Mr Murdoch was then married to second wife Anna, an Australian journalist and novelist. He had loaned the McKays his Rolls-Royce while he was away.
The Hosein brothers quickly realised they had abducted the wrong woman but decided to issue their ransom demand anyway rather than releasing Mrs McKay.
