Muriel McKay's final resting place is a mystery that has haunted her family for more than fifty years since she was kidnapped after being mistaken for the wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
The 55-year-old mother of three was snatched from her London home in December 1969 and presumed murdered, but her body has never been found.
Now Nizamodeen Hosein – known as Nizam – one of two men convicted of her kidnapping and death in 1970, has put his name to a stunning legal document fully admitting his involvement for the first time.
The nine-page affidavit – a legally binding document witnessed by lawyers and seen by The Mail on Sunday – sets out in painstaking detail the events of the night of December 29, 1969, when Mrs McKay, wife of News International chief executive Alick McKay , was ambushed on the doorstep of her home in Wimbledon, south-west London.
It identifies what Nizam insists is the exact location of her body at Rooks Farm, near the village of Stocking Pelham in Hertfordshire, where she was taken after the botched kidnapping.
The final resting place of Muriel McKay (pictured) is a mystery that has haunted her family for more than fifty years since she was kidnapped after being mistaken for the wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch
Now Nizamodeen Hosein – known as Nizam – one of two men convicted of her kidnapping and death in 1970 (pictured), has signed his name to a stunning legal document in which he fully admits his involvement for the first time
Ms McKay's grandson, property investor and inventor Mark Dyer, 59, said: 'This document has been 54 years in the making. It took Nizam more than half a century to admit his part in events, and now that he has fully admitted it, it is a huge step forward.”
This full admission is a huge step forward
Nizam was imprisoned along with his brother Arthur in 1970 for the kidnap and murder of Mrs McKay. It was one of the first times a murder conviction was handed down without a body, and both refused to admit their part in a crime that made headlines around the world.
But in recent months Nizam, who was deported to his native Trinidad in 1990 after 20 years in prison, has become more cooperative.
In March last year, his information led the Metropolitan Police to conduct a limited search of Rooks Farm – now renamed Stocking Farm – but they found nothing. Both the family and Nizam have since confirmed that officers searched in the wrong place.
Earlier this month, Mr Dyer and his mother Dianne spoke to the Mail about their desire to quash the red tape preventing Nizam from returning to Britain so he could identify Ms McKay's burial place. They also revealed that the family's quest for peace had been hampered by the refusal of the farm's owner, Ian de Burgh Marsh, to allow further access. They hope the affidavit will now change that.
Australian newspaper publisher and businessman Rupert Murdoch pictured with his wife Anna Murdoch and daughter Elisabeth Murdoch at home in Sussex Gardens, London on October 4, 1969
The legal document was drawn up last Monday and was witnessed by both the McKays' lawyer and an independent lawyer from Trinidad. It sets out what happened the night Mrs McKay was kidnapped in a bid for a £1million ransom.
Nizam reveals how he and Arthur parked nearby and waited for the woman they believed to be Rupert Murdoch's wife Anna to return.
But it was in fact Mrs. McKay, and she was taken to Rooks Farm, then owned by Arthur. Ms McKay collapsed after seeing a news report in which her family called for her safe return.
“I have since speculated that she died of a heart attack,” Nizam wrote.
He then describes what he did to her body 'in a panic', writing: 'I carried Muriel's body outside and through a wooden gate at the side between the sheds. I remember walking to the fence and burying her body about three feet from the fence to hide her.”
Along with the affidavit is a photo marked with an X where he believes Ms. McKay's body is. Essentially it hasn't been searched by the police.
Nizam added, “My only wish is to help the McKay family by helping them find Muriel's burial place so they can finally have peace.”
You can sign the petition here: https://www.change.org/p/allow-nizamodeen-hosein-s-re-entry-into-the-uk-to-reveal-muriel-mckay-s-burial-place.