Killer In 1969 Murder Of Murdoch Exec’s Wife Offers To Reveal Burial Location In Exchange For Return To UK

Greg Evans
·2 min read
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A man convicted in the notorious 1969 kidnapping and murder of Muriel McKay, the wife of Rupert Murdoch deputy Alick McKay, has offered to reveal the location of the victim’s body in exchange for a lifting of a deportation order that bars him from entering the UK.

According to a Sky News report, Nizamodeen Hosein, now 75 and living in his native Trinidad, has offered to help McKay’s daughter Dianne, 82, locate her mother’s body, believed to be buried at the Hertfordshire farm formerly owned by Hosein and his brother Arthur Hosein. Both men were convicted of the crime in 1970 and sentenced to life in prison, where Arthur Hosein died in 2009.

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Nizamodeen Hosein was deported to Trinidad after serving 20 years in prison. Muriel McKay’s body has never been located. After decades of silence, Hosein, according to Sky, now claims she collapsed and died of a heart attack while being held at the farm.

The crime made international headlines in 1969 when it was determined that the Hosein brothers had mistaken Muriel McKay for Anna Murdoch, who was then the wife of Rupert Murdoch. A ransom of £1 million was demanded.

Muriel McKay was, in fact, the wife of Alick McKay, a top executive in the Murdoch newspaper empire. The Hosein brothers were soon captured and convicted despite the absence of a body.

The bizarre crime was referenced as a major plot point in James Graham’s play Ink, which opened on the West End in 2018 and on Broadway in 2019.

In a letter to Britain’s Home Office, viewed by Sky News, Hosein wrote, “I admit my involvement in the kidnap and death of Muriel McKay, and I have been attempting to assist her daughter Dianne in locating her body. I believe I am the only living person who knows where Muriel’s body is and would like her body to be found before I myself die.”

In a statement to Sky News, a Home Office spokesperson said, “We express sympathies with Muriel McKay’s loved ones. While we do not comment on individual cases, we work with the police on any requests pertaining to ongoing investigations.”

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement to Sky, “We most recently met some members of Muriel’s family in May 2023 and continue to keep in contact with them. We continue to review any opportunities to recover Muriel’s body and return her to her family.”

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