CBS News
New search launched for body of woman kidnapped, killed 54 years ago after being mistaken for Rupert Murdoch’s wife
U.K. police on Monday launched a fresh search for the body of a woman kidnapped and murdered over 50 years ago after being mistaken for the wife of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.
A police team including forensic archaeologists will scour a farm north of London for the third time after one of the men convicted of the kidnapping reportedly revealed the location of victim Muriel McKay’s body.
Officers searched Stocking Farm in Stocking Pelham at the time of the murder and again in 2022, with the help of ground-penetrating radar and specialist forensic archaeologists, BBC News reported. Nothing new was found.
London’s Metropolitan Police said a no-fly zone would be in place over Stocking farm near the town of Bishop’s Stortford to “protect the integrity of the search and dignity for the deceased should remains be found.”
Brothers Nizamodeen and Arthur Hosein kidnapped McKay, then 55, in 1969 for a £1 million ransom — the equivalent now to $18 million — thinking that she was Murdoch’s second wife Anna.
The brothers had followed Murdoch’s Rolls-Royce unaware he had lent it to his deputy Alick McKay, Muriel’s husband.
Albert Foster/Mirrorpix via Getty Images
They were convicted of murder and kidnap after a 1970 trial, but denied killing the newspaper executive’s wife and refused to reveal where she was buried.
Nizamodeen served 20 years in prison and was then deported to Trinidad, while his brother Arthur died in prison in the U.K. in 2009.
Nizamodeen Hosein, however, last December gave McKay’s family a sworn statement confirming the location of the body, telling them he wanted his “conscience to be clear,” the Murdoch-owned Times newspaper reported.
He has previously claimed McKay collapsed and died while watching a television news report about her kidnapping.
McKay’s grandson, Mark Dryer, told BBC News the focus of the latest search would be an area behind a barn that has not been dug before.
“If we don’t find her it will be a disappointment, but it won’t be unexpected. But without searching for something you’re never going to find it,” he said.
“We haven’t dug behind the barn, no one’s ever dug behind the barn,” he added.
The search is expected to take around five days but could be extended.
Speaking to Jane MacSorley and Simon Farquhar for BBC Radio 4’s new podcast “Intrigue: Worse Than Murder,” Muriel’s son Ian McKay said after his mother was abducted, the family received countless calls from people including strangers and crank callers.
“We were absolutely dying a thousand deaths every day because we were hanging on every telephone call,” Ian McKay said. “This was the most incredible and torturous experience you can imagine – this just didn’t happen over a few days. This went on for weeks.”
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.
A food company known for popular grocery store condiments has recalled a package of tortilla strips that may be contaminated with wheat, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday. The product is meant to be gluten-free.
Sugar Foods, a manufacturing and distribution corporation focused mainly on various toppings, artificial sweeteners and snacks, issued the recall for the “Santa Fe Style” version of tortilla strips sold by the brand Fresh Gourmet.
“People who have a wheat allergy or severe sensitivity to wheat run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the product,” said Sugar Foods in an announcement posted by the FDA.
Packages of these tortilla strips with an expiration date as late as June 20, 2025, could contain undeclared wheat, meaning the allergen is not listed as an ingredient on the label. The Fresh Gourmet product is marketed as gluten-free.
Sugar Foods said a customer informed the company on Nov. 19 that packages of the tortilla strips actually contained crispy onions, another Fresh Gourmet product normally sold in a similar container. The brand’s crispy onion product does contain wheat, and that allergen is noted on the label.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
No illnesses tied to the packaging mistake have been reported, according to the announcement from Sugar Foods. However, the company is still recalling the tortilla strips as a precaution. The contamination issue may have affected products distributed between Sept. 30 and Nov. 11 in 22 states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington.
Sugar Foods has advised anyone with questions about the recall to contact the company’s consumer care department by email or phone.
CBS News reached out to Sugar Foods for more information but did not receive an immediate reply.
This is the latest in a series of food product recalls affected because of contamination issues, although the others involved harmful bacteria. Some recent, high-profile incidents include an E. coli outbreak from organic carrots that killed at least one person in California, and a listeria outbreak that left an infant dead in California and nine people hospitalized across four different states, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The E. coli outbreak is linked to multiple different food brands while the listeria outbreak stemmed from a line of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products sold by Yu-Shang Foods.