The family of murdered Muriel McKay say they received encouragement in their campaign to search the farm where they believe her body is buried.
MurielMark Dyer’s grandson threatened to sue landowner Ian Marsh over access, but when the two men met on a public footpath running through the farmyard, he was invited in for a coffee and a chat.
Businessman Mr Dyer said afterwards: “If the police decide they are not going to do a second dig then I will speak to Ian because Ian and I now have a connection.
“He seems like the kind of guy I could have a sensible conversation with and maybe come to some kind of resolution.
“I’m sure he doesn’t want this to go on forever. I think he knows we’re determined. I think we made a lot of progress here today.”
It was the first time Dyer had visited the Hertfordshire farm where his grandmother was rescued and died 55 years ago. her body was never found. He was six years old at the time.
He said: “This is a place I heard lectures about and was told never to go to. This was the most evil place in the world for our family.”
As we walked along a track towards the farm in the village of Stocking Pelham, he said to me: “I’m actually sweating through my palms because it’s a strange feeling knowing that she’s here and I haven’t been allowed to pick her up. It’s very scary.
Dyer met landowner Ian Marsh
In January, Mr Dyer and his mother Dianne, Muriel’s daughter, flew to the Caribbean to meet his killer Nizam Hoseinlong deported to his native Trinidad after being released from life imprisonment.
They greeted each other warmly and sat over maps and old photographs in an attempt to identify the spot where Hosein is said to have buried Muriel after she collapsed and died of a heart attack.
Hosein, 75, pointed to a spot behind a barn and said: “Two feet from the hedge, that’s where the body is.”
Killer Nizam Hosein pointing to the spot with Dianne, Muriel’s daughter
Dyer arrived at the scene via a footpath that runs through the farm and said: “I feel like she’s underneath me right now.
“I mean, it brings tears to my eyes. I just want to take it away, take it away.”
Moments later, landowner Ian Marsh appeared, introduced himself and the two men disappeared into the farmhouse.
Hosein and his older brother Arthur kidnapped Mrs McKay, 55, after mistaking her for Anna, the then wife of newspaper owner Rupert Murdoch. Muriel was married to Alick McKay, Murdoch’s deputy.
There is hope for a new dig for the family
They kept her at the farm, owned by Arthur, while they negotiated a £1 million ransom with her family.
They were arrested after police followed their car and were later convicted of kidnapping and murder in one of the first no-body trials.
Scotland Yard officers dug at the farm two years ago but found nothing. The family said they excavated the wrong area and encouraged them to look again.
Police are still undecided about a second excavation because detectives themselves visited Hosein last month and found his memory “incoherent”.
Police found nothing during initial excavation at the site
See more information:
Farm owner will allow police to search for Muriel McKay’s body
Deported killer offers to return to UK to show where body is buried
Detective Superintendent Katherine Goodwin, from the Metropolitan Police’s specialist crime branch, said: “I have complete empathy for Muriel’s family and how desperate they are to recover her remains.
“We spoke to Muriel’s family following her visit to Trinidad, which led to detectives flying to Trinidad to carry out further investigations alongside officers from the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.
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“The team recently returned from Trinidad and it is important that we properly evaluate all the information we gathered after extensive interviews over three days. I also want to emphasize that we are keeping an open mind to all possible next steps.
“Once we have time to review all the material we have gathered, we will provide Muriel’s family with a full update.”
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
