Family want to buy farm to dig for body

The family of a woman who was kidnapped and murdered at a farm want to purchase the property and dig for her body.

Muriel McKay was never found after being killed at Stocking Farm, near Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, in 1969.

The Metropolitan Police spent £160,000 conducting an eight-day search at the site in July but it ultimately proved unsuccessful .

Mrs McKay's grandson, Mark Dyer, said he was willing to pay more than £1m to purchase what he branded "the most evil place on earth".

He admitted it would be a "difficult thing to do" emotionally but said it could be necessary for closure.

The digs in July took place after the last surviving murderer, now living in Trinidad, gave information about where Mrs McKay was allegedly buried.

Nizamodeen Hosein was not permitted to return to the UK to assist in the search, which the McKay family felt hampered the effort.

Ian McKay, Muriel's son, told the BBC: "All this depends on the property owner wanting to sell.

"Purchasing 'Rook's Farm' would be an emotional response to allow the family to properly search and hopefully seek closure."

The owners of the farm have been contacted for comment.

Mr Dyer said if his family did buy the property in the future, ownership would only be "transitional".

They would purchase it, hire specialists to conduct a private search for Mrs McKay and then sell it on, he explained.

In October 1970, Nizamodeen and brother Arthur Hosein were given life sentences for kidnapping and holding Mrs McKay, 55, for a £1m ransom, before murdering her.

She had been snatched in a case of mistaken identity on 29 December 1969, with the siblings believing she was the then-wife of newspaper tycoon Rupert Murdoch.

Earlier this year, Mr Dyer flew out to Trinidad with Mrs McKay's daughter, Dianne, where Nizamodeen showed them on a map where he believed the body was buried.

The murderer's lawyer, Matthew Gayle, told the BBC Nizamodeen remained willing to come to England to assist with a dig.