Bone found in search for remains of Muriel McKay 'not human'
She was thought to have died on a farm in Hertfordshire
Last updated 20th Mar 2026
Excavators working for the family of murder victim Muriel McKay have discovered a bone at a site where they were told her body was buried 57 years ago, but it seems not to be the bone of a human.
The discovery was made near a betting shop in Hackney, East London.
Muriel, 55, was the wife of Alick McKay, the deputy to newspaper mogul Rupert Murdoch when she was kidnapped by brothers Arthur and Nizamodeen Hosein from her home in Wimbledon just after Christmas in 1969.
They mistook Muriel for Murdoch's wife Anna, held her at their ramshackle farm in Hertfordshire and demanded a million pounds for her safe return.
The brothers were convicted of Muriel's murder, one of the first murder trials with no evidence of the victim's body. They never revealed Muriel's fate.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “Police are aware of reports surrounding the discovery of a single bone in the garden of a property in Bethnal Green Road, Hackney. The bone was uncovered on Friday, 20 March, during an independent search.
“Officers attended the scene assisted by forensic colleagues who have determined the bone does not belong to a human."