Content deleted Content added
No edit summary |
m Copyedit (minor) |
||
| (19 intermediate revisions by 7 users not shown) | |||
Line 10:
| birth_place = [[Adelaide]], [[South Australia]], Australia
| death_date = {{circa}} {{death date and age|1 January 1970|4 February 1914|df=yes}}
| death_place = Rooks Farm, [[Stocking Pelham]], [[Hertfordshire]],
| nationality = Australian
| spouse = Alick McKay
Line 16:
}}
'''Muriel Freda McKay''' (4 February 1914 – {{circa|1 January 1970}}) was an Australian woman who was [[kidnap]]ped on 29 December 1969 in the United Kingdom and presumed murdered in the first few days of 1970.<ref name=PictorialCrime/><ref name="Joseph">{{cite web |last1=Joseph |first1=Francis |title=Englishwoman missing for 39 years |department=Archives |url=http://www.guardian.co.tt/archives/news/crime/2009/04/04/englishwoman-missing-39-years |website=[[Trinidad and Tobago Guardian]] |date=3 April 2009 |accessdate=25 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020030227/http://www.guardian.co.tt/archives/news/crime/2009/04/04/englishwoman-missing-39-years |archive-date=20 October 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19701007&id=CZIuAAAAIBAJ&pg=958,1627088 |newspaper=The Montreal Gazette |date=7 October 1970 |title=Two bumbling kidnappers get life prison terms |page=45 |agency=UPI |via=news.google.com |access-date=8 July 2019 |archive-date=28 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228223843/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19701007&id=CZIuAAAAIBAJ&pg=958,1627088 |url-status=live }}</ref> She was married to <!-- Later knighted in 1977, no peerage. -->Alick McKay,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/01/16/Sir-Alex-Mackay-a-director-and-former-deputy-chairman/5932411541200/|title=Sir Alex Mackay, a director and former deputy chairman...|website=UPI|language=en|access-date=8 July 2019|archive-date=8 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708024051/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/01/16/Sir-Alex-Mackay-a-director-and-former-deputy-chairman/5932411541200/|url-status=live}}</ref> an executive at [[News Limited]] and deputy to media proprietor [[Rupert Murdoch]]. McKay was kidnapped after being mistaken for Murdoch's then-wife, [[Anna
The case was one of the earliest examples in the United Kingdom of a trial and conviction secured for a [[murder conviction without a body|murder without a body]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-17464298|title=Body of evidence but no murder body|last=Tarver|first=Nick|date=3 April 2012|access-date=8 July 2019|archive-date=8 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190708033424/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-17464298|url-status=live}}</ref>
Line 39:
== Trial ==
Based on the evidence, the Hosein brothers were arrested and sent to trial on 14 September 1970, with the [[prosecution]] led by [[Peter Rawlinson, Baron Rawlinson of Ewell|Peter Rawlinson]]. At trial it was learned that Arthur, a tailor in [[Hackney, London|Hackney]], was experiencing financial difficulty after buying Rooks Farm in May 1968.<ref name=":1" /> The Hoseins decided to kidnap [[Anna
Throughout the case, each brother tried to put the blame on the other, although it was soon determined that Arthur was the dominant sibling.<ref name=":02"/><ref name=":1" /> The Hoseins were charged with murder, kidnap and [[blackmail]], and convicted at the [[Old Bailey]] on 6 October 1970.<ref name="Joseph" /> When imposing [[life sentence]]s on the pair, plus twenty-five years in Arthur's case and fifteen in Nizamodeen's, the trial judge, [[Sebag Shaw|Justice Shaw]], said their "conduct was cold-blooded and abominable".<ref>{{cite news|last=Borrell|first=Clive|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/archive/article/1970-10-07/1/11.html|title=Life sentences for Hosein Brothers|work=The Times|location=London|date=7 October 1970|accessdate=27 September 2017}} {{subscription required}}</ref> Despite investigation, it was never established what happened to Muriel's remains, though there was speculation that the brothers had fed them to their guard dogs or pigs.<ref name=":02"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17464298|title=Convicting a murderer with no dead body|last=Tarver|first=Nick|date=3 April 2012|accessdate=27 September 2017|publisher=BBC News|archive-date=29 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929060658/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17464298|url-status=live}}</ref>
Line 50:
In 2017, [[Kelvin MacKenzie]]'s review of ''[[Ink (play)|Ink]]'', a play about the history of ''The Sun'',<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/4029db12-8729-11e7-8bb1-5ba57d47eff7|title=The meaning of Rupert Murdoch|website=Financial Times|date=25 August 2017|language=en-GB|access-date=8 July 2019|archive-date=4 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104073200/https://www.ft.com/content/4029db12-8729-11e7-8bb1-5ba57d47eff7|url-status=live}}</ref> described the portion of the play about McKay's kidnapping as its "most dramatic moment".<ref name="MacKenzie" /> [[Jane Martinson]], in her review for ''[[The Guardian]]'', described that portion of the play as its "most uncomfortable moment".<ref name="Martinson" />
===Searches for McKay's body===
In 2021, it was reported that Nizamodeen had told a [[King's Counsel|QC]] that Muriel died of a [[heart attack]] shortly after the kidnapping and provided details of the location of the body at Rooks Farm.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ellery|first=Ben|title=Muriel McKay's kidnap killer reveals burial place after 51 years|newspaper=The Times|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/muriel-mckay-s-kidnap-killer-reveals-burial-place-after-51-years-g36fj2rvb|access-date=18 December 2021|issn=0140-0460|archive-date=18 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211218082243/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/muriel-mckay-s-kidnap-killer-reveals-burial-place-after-51-years-g36fj2rvb|url-status=live}}</ref> In November 2023, Nizamodeen asked to be allowed back to the UK to show the McKay family where he buried Muriel.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Muriel McKay: Deported killer offers to return to UK to show victim's family where body is buried |url=https://news.sky.com/story/muriel-mckay-deported-killer-offers-to-return-to-uk-to-show-victims-family-where-body-is-buried-13008767 |access-date=17 November 2023 |website=Sky News |archive-date=17 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117012436/https://news.sky.com/story/muriel-mckay-deported-killer-offers-to-return-to-uk-to-show-victims-family-where-body-is-buried-13008767 |url-status=live }}</ref> Muriel's daughter Diane urged the [[Metropolitan Police]] to co-operate to help the recovery of her mother's body.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2 December 2023 |title=Muriel McKay's daughter urges Met to let mother's killer find body |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-67589313 |access-date=2 December 2023 |archive-date=2 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202112029/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-67589313 |url-status=live }}</ref> In January 2024, Muriel's daughter and grandson met with Nizamodeen in Trinidad to ask him for the truth about the location of Muriel's body.<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 January 2024 |title=Muriel McKay: Family comes face-to-face with grandmother's killer |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-68107010 |access-date=29 January 2024 |work=BBC News |archive-date=29 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129201233/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-68107010 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Daughter of Muriel McKay meets her mother's killer in Trinidad |url=https://news.sky.com/video/daughter-of-muriel-mckay-meets-her-mothers-killer-in-trinidad-13059170 |access-date=29 January 2024 |website=Sky News |language=en |archive-date=29 January 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240129194309/https://news.sky.com/video/daughter-of-muriel-mckay-meets-her-mothers-killer-in-trinidad-13059170 |url-status=live }}</ref>▼
An initial search for McKay was made at Rooks Farm after the arrest of the Hosein brothers in February 1970, but was hampered by the ground being hardened in the cold weather and ultimately found no trace of her.<ref name=times1>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/police-will-dig-at-farm-where-muriel-mckays-killer-says-she-is-buried-vfv58ft57|title=Muriel McKay murder: police confirm date of new dig for remains|work=[[The Times]]|first=Ben|last=Ellery|date=20 June 2024|access-date=22 July 2024|url-status=live|url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240620160458/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/police-will-dig-at-farm-where-muriel-mckays-killer-says-she-is-buried-vfv58ft57 |archive-date=20 June 2024}}</ref><ref name="Joseph"/>
▲In 2021, it was reported that Nizamodeen had told a [[King's Counsel|QC]] that Muriel died of a [[heart attack]] shortly after the kidnapping and provided details of the location of
Nizamodeen supposedly signed a £40,000 contract with the McKay family to reveal where Muriel is buried. He then turned down the money and pointed out on a map where she is buried.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.sky.com/story/muriel-mckay-convicted-killer-signed-50-000-contract-with-victims-family-to-reveal-what-happened-to-her-body-13018581|title=Muriel McKay: Convicted killer signed £40,000 contract with victim's family to reveal what happened to her body|website=Sky News|accessdate=9 March 2024}}</ref> He revealed to Mark Dyer, Muriel's grandson, his involvement in the kidnap and her burial location in an [[affidavit]] dated 11 December 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ellery |first=Ben |date=9 March 2024 |title=Muriel McKay's family to give police 'credible' evidence from killer |newspaper=[[The Times]] |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/muriel-mckays-family-to-give-police-credible-evidence-from-killer-wbnspnxgf |access-date=9 March 2024 |language=en |issn=0140-0460}}</ref>▼
In January 2024, the [[Home Office]] refused Nizamodeen's return to the UK to supposedly identify the spot where he buried Muriel. Diane McKay and Mark Dyer then flew to Trinidad on 27 January 2024 with ''[[The Times]]'' (a Murdoch outlet) and [[Sky News]] to interview Nizamodeen over the course of two days. They claim that Nizamodeen disclosed exactly where Muriel was buried and asked to come to the UK to show where.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |title=Muriel McKay death: Met Police will fly to Caribbean to interview killer in search for victim's remains |url=https://news.sky.com/story/muriel-mckay-death-met-police-will-fly-to-caribbean-to-interview-killer-in-search-for-victims-remains-13070342 |access-date=9 March 2024 |website=Sky News |language=en}}</ref> On 9 March, Katherine Goodwin of [[Scotland Yard]] told ''The Times'' that investigators decided to visit Nizamodeen in Trinidad with a view to bringing him back to England.<ref name="auto"/> Hosein said he would show police the location of Muriel's body.<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 March 2024 |title=Muriel McKay killer says he will show where body is buried |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-68514150 |access-date=9 March 2024 |work=BBC News}}</ref> Mark Dyer was contacted by Scotland Yard on Thursday 16 May, confirming that they would search Rooks Farm within six weeks.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Ellery |first1=Ben|last2=Gair|first2=Kieran|date=17 May 2024 |title=Muriel McKay: police to begin fresh search for body |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/muriel-mckay-kidnapping-death-police-search-remains-wc2x2qlpp |access-date=17 May 2024}}</ref> On 20 June 2024, Mark Dyer met with Katherine Goodwin at Stocking Farm with a view to agree the search area. The search started on 15 July 2024 with the Met allowing between a week and 10 days for this. The search area was three times the original search area as reported in ''The Times''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/police-will-dig-at-farm-where-muriel-mckays-killer-says-she-is-buried-vfv58ft57|title=Muriel McKay murder: police confirm date of new dig for remains|work=The Times|first=Ben|last=Ellery|date=20 June 2024|access-date=22 July 2024}}</ref> On 22 July 2024, it was announced that the search had been unsuccessful and no remains had been recovered.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn38v3rkynjo|title=No human remains found in search for Muriel McKay|work=BBC News|first=Danny|last=Fullbrook|date=22 July 2024|access-date=22 July 2024}}</ref>▼
▲Nizamodeen
▲In January 2024, the [[Home Office]] refused to allow Nizamodeen
==See also==
Line 132 ⟶ 131:
*[https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/i-want-answers-to-mums-kidnap-and-death-0jxhj2kxg I want answers to Mum's kidnap and death] – The Times
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13031148/?ref_=nm_flmg_t_1_arf The Wimbledon Kidnapping] – IMDB
*[https://thehistorypress.co.uk/article/a-desperate-business Muriel McKay: A Conclusion] – Piece by Simon Farquhar reflecting on the 2024 search▼
▲*[https://thehistorypress.co.uk/article/a-desperate-business] – Piece by Simon Farquhar reflecting on the 2024 search
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Muriel}}
| |||