Muriel McKay: Family want 'tragedy' to end as search begins at Hertfordshire farm for remains
Sejal Karia reports as the search begins for Muriel McKay at Stocking Farm.
The grandson of a woman who was murdered in 1969 says his family is hoping for closure as a fresh search for her remains began.
Muriel McKay, the wealthy wife of newspaper executive Alick McKay, was kidnapped and held ransom for £1million more than 54 years ago.
The pair who kidnapped her had mistaken her for Anna Murdoch, the then-wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, as Mr McKay was also Australian and Murdoch's deputy.
Mrs McKay, 55, disappeared in December 1969 and was traced to Stocking Farm near Bishop’s Stortford in Hertfordshire.
Her body has never been found, despite the farm having been searched several times since 1969, though the latest search includes guidance from one of Mrs McKay's killers.
On Monday the search began at the farm, which is expected to take around five days but could be extended.
It has seen officers from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command and forensic officers working together with forensic archaeologists and other specialists as well as Hertfordshire Police.
Muriel McKay's grandson Mark Dyer campaigned hard to re-ignite the search for her body and said it was going to be "a long week" while the dig takes place.
"We would love success. We want to put her somewhere where she can be laid to rest. This has been haunting us for half a century and it gets passed on to other generations.
“We're hoping what Nizam has said is true and we can pull her remains out of the farm and put her somewhere where she can be laid to rest and where the whole ghastly tragedy can end.
"This has been haunting us for half a century and it gets passed on to other generations. If all the stories can converge into one ending that will be the grand finale."
Brothers Arthur and Nizamodeen Hosein were convicted of Ms McKay's kidnap and murder.
Arthur Hosein died in prison in 2009, while Nizamodeen Hosein was deported to Trinidad and Tobago after serving his sentence.
Earlier this year, Ms McKay's family went to Trinidad and Tobago to meet Nizamodeen Hosein.
He told them and police where he buried Ms McKay, which her family say is a section of the farm that has never been dug up.
The farm was searched at the time of the murder and again in 2022, involving 30 police officers, ground penetrating radar and specialist forensic archaeologists, but nothing new was found.
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