Bone Discovered in Search for Muriel McKay’s Remains

Excavators working for the family have uncovered a bone in a back yard on Bethnal Green Road in Hackney. It was found about a metre below ground behind a betting shop.

The bone measures roughly nine inches long and a few inches wide. A Metropolitan Police forensics team is at the scene to begin analysis.

Police response and forensic work

The force said officers were aware of reports about a single bone found during an independent search. Work is under way to establish whether the bone is human and its origin.

Investigators have treated the area as a potential murder scene. Forensic specialists are taking samples and documenting the location.

Family reaction and ongoing hope

Muriel McKay’s grandson, Mark Dyer, said the find could finally resolve a long-standing mystery. He said the family learned the ground had been identified as significant last year.

The discovery follows four years of intense private investigation by relatives. They are now waiting on forensic results before drawing conclusions.

Background: the 1969 kidnapping and trial

Muriel McKay was 55 when she was kidnapped just after Christmas 1969. She was taken from her Wimbledon home by Arthur and Nizamodeen Hosein.

The brothers had targeted her after mistaking her for Anna Murdoch, wife of Rupert Murdoch. They held her on a rundown farm in Hertfordshire and demanded £1 million for her return.

Both men were arrested and convicted at the Old Bailey for McKay’s murder. The trial was notable for a conviction without the victim’s body being recovered.

Confession, searches and dead ends

Years later, the family traced Nizamodeen to Trinidad. In a meeting, he said Muriel died suddenly and was buried on the farm.

Scotland Yard reopened the case and dug at the farm on two occasions. Those excavations found no trace of her remains.

New lead from a former tailor

Last year the family offered a £1m reward for information. They then received contact from Hayley Frais in Israel.

She said her father Percy Chaplin had run a Bethnal Green tailor shop in the 1960s and 1970s. He employed Arthur Hosein and made suits for local gangsters.

On his deathbed, Percy reportedly suggested a criminal associate had moved Muriel’s body. He said the remains may have been reburied behind his former premises, now the betting shop.

Where the search goes next

The family-led operation yielded the bone discovered during their search for Muriel McKay’s remains. Authorities will now rely on forensic testing to confirm identity.

Results are expected after laboratory analysis. If confirmed human, the find would reopen questions about Muriel McKay remains and the final chapter of this case.