'Muriel McKay's murderers stole our pigs'

A woman has said the murderers of Muriel McKay "stole" pigs from her family farm shortly before they carried out their abduction.

In December 1969 Mrs McKay was held hostage and killed at Rooks Farm, Stocking Pelham, Hertfordshire, after being mistaken for the then-wife of newspaper tycoon Rupert Murdoch.

Irene Harvey, 66, said the murderers Nizamodeen and Arthur Hosein "wanted the pigs to eat the body. I think that is what happened".

Mrs Harvey’s family owned Curly Tail Pig Farm, in Colliers End, which is about 10 miles (16km) from Rooks Farm, now known as Stocking Farm, where police officers have finished their latest unsuccessful search to find the remains of Mrs McKay.

Mrs Harvey described how she made the murderers, who "did not strike her as farmers", a cup of tea when they came to the farm when she was alone one Sunday.

They asked to buy 18 Cambrian pigs but Mrs Harvey, who was 11 at the time, said the pigs were supplied to Sainsbury’s and not for sale.

She asked Nizamodeen Hosein to write his name and the address and he added the demand to purchase 18 pigs.

The next day the family noticed all the pigs had been released from their pens and 18 were missing.

A year later when Mrs Harvey saw the murderers on television she said she was "absolutely horrified" and finally told her parents about the visit.

She rang the police which came to pick up the handwritten note she had kept. She said officers were "well chuffed with that" as it was "exactly the same writing" as used for the ransom note.

Mrs Harvey's father, Ronald Cooper, 88, who now lives on the Isle of Wight, said he had no idea at the time why the pigs were taken but "they must have used them to dispose of her (Mrs McKay)".

Paul Francis, 73, a retired Hertfordshire police officer, was involved in the search at the farm, for Mrs McKay’s body.

He said he searched "the open fields with sticks or staffs to look for any open ground", which may have been disturbed.

But he said other officers were searching amongst the hay and pig muck as "there was a rumour going round that she could have been fed to the pigs".

He said it was a "strong possibility" because if you cannot find the body you would have to consider it was either eaten, buried or down a well.

The third search to find Mrs McKay's body, was completed on 22 July, and the Met said no further searches would be carried out.

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