{"id":486275,"date":"2026-03-20T18:20:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T18:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/486275\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T18:20:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T18:20:11","slug":"bone-is-found-in-hunt-for-muriel-mckays-body-as-search-teams-carry-out-dig-in-east-london-garden-55-years-after-she-was-kidnapped-and-murdered","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/486275\/","title":{"rendered":"Bone is found in hunt for Muriel McKay’s body as search teams carry out dig in east London garden 55 years after she was kidnapped and murdered"},"content":{"rendered":"

To get a free exclusive article with new revelations about Britain’s youngest female murderer, sign up to our newsletter HERE <\/a>and receive it right awayWhat kind of cases do you want to read more about? Let us know at: crimedesk@dailymail.co.uk\u00a0<\/p>\n

By GEORGE ODLING, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT<\/a> <\/p>\n

Published: 11:59 EDT, 20 March 2026 | Updated: 12:48 EDT, 20 March 2026 <\/p>\n

The family of Muriel McKay, kidnapped and murdered 55 years ago, say they have found a bone in an east London<\/a> garden.<\/p>\n

A nine-inch bone, which appeared to have been \u2018sliced with a weapon or machine,’ was discovered at about 1.45pm today, Mrs McKay\u2019s grandson, Mark Dyer said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mrs McKay was snatched from her home in 1969 by Indo-Trinidadian brothers Arthur and Nizam Hosein, who mistakenly believed she was the wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch<\/a> and demanded a \u00a31million ransom.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The duo were convicted and jailed for Mrs McKay\u2019s murder in 1970, but her body has never been discovered despite several police searches.<\/p>\n

Her family received new hope last year, however, via the daughter of a former tailor who had a shop on Bethnal Green.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Percy Chaplin’s shop in Bethnal Green was used by notorious gangsters the Kray twins, and he employed one of Mrs McKay’s murderers, Arthur Hosein.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2022, when he was nearing the end of his life, Mr Chaplin told his daughter, Hayley Frais, that he believed her body could be buried on the premises.<\/p>\n

She informed the McKay family, who scanned the property last week and began digging this morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Muriel <\/p>\n

Muriel McKay was the wife of newspaper executive Alick McKay. She was kidnapped for a \u00a31 million ransom in 1969 after being mistaken for Anna Murdoch, the then-wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch.<\/p>\n

\"Her <\/p>\n

Her family began digging in the garden of a property in Bethnal Green after receiving a tip from the daughter of a tailor who once had a shop on the site that Mrs McKay may be buried on the premises<\/p>\n

\"Percy <\/p>\n

Percy Chaplin’s shop in Bethnal Green was used by notorious gangsters the Kray twins, and he employed one of Mrs McKay’s murderers, Arthur Hosein. It is now a bookmaker’s<\/p>\n

\"Surveyors <\/p>\n

Surveyors carried out a scan in the garden last week and began digging this morning<\/p>\n

\"Police <\/p>\n

Police and forensics have now taken over the search, and have designated the garden a murder scene, Mrs McKay’s grandson said.<\/p>\n

Mr Dyer said: \u2018Police have arrived, there\u2019s now a murder scene \u2013 we have forensics in there too.<\/p>\n

\u2018The bone is about nine inches long, it\u2019s been chopped at one end. \u2018We don\u2019t know what sort of bone it is, but it is in the exact area Hayley said my grandmother would be.<\/p>\n

\u2018We stopped digging as soon as we found it and phoned the police. I wasn\u2019t allowed in there myself, it was a surveyor and two diggers who made the discovery.<\/p>\n

\u2018Obviously we are praying this is it, that we have finally found my grandmother after so many years. But we will have to see what the police say.\u2019<\/p>\n

The Metropolitan Police confirmed the discovery and said that officers were at the scene trying to ‘establish the origin’ of the bone.<\/p>\n

A Scotland Yard spokesman 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 during an independent search.<\/p>\n

‘Officers are now on scene and work is being undertaken to establish the origin.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

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