New Radio 4 podcast tells story of 1969 kidnapping of Muriel McKay
Following a renewed search by the Metropolitan Police at a Hertfordshire farm, a new BBC Radio 4 podcast series tells the story of the 1969 kidnapping of Muriel McKay.
In the winter of 1969, Muriel McKay, the wife of Rupert Murdoch’s deputy chairman at News Limited, was kidnapped from her home in Wimbledon, Southwest London.
The kidnappers claimed they had tried to get Rupert Murdoch’s wife Anna, but couldn’t, so they took Muriel instead. She was never seen again.
Intrigue: Worse Than Murder tells the story of what happened the night Muriel was taken, and in the days, months and years that followed.
The case baffled the police force and led to the biggest manhunt of its day as the Metropolitan police raced against the clock to find Muriel. But the kidnapping was something else too: a story that helped make the British tabloid press into the kind of beast we know today.
Using testimony from members of the McKay family and previously un-broadcast recordings of telephone conversations with the kidnappers, the podcast explores the impact the abduction has had on Muriel’s family for 54 long years, and what it tells us about the tabloid press at a pivotal moment in its history.
Presented by investigative journalist Jane MacSorley with the author of A Desperate Business: The Murder of Muriel McKay, Simon Farquhar, the current developments are also reported as the Met Police have confirmed that they will renew their search for Muriel McKay’s body at a farm in Hertfordshire more than half a century after her death.
Commissioning Editor Daniel Clarke says: “This series sheds new light on one of the most tragic kidnap cases in 20th century British history, and the impact it has had on Muriel McKay’s family.
“It also shows us a huge amount about how both the police and the press operated in the late sixties and early seventies and is extremely eye opening in that regard. As the Metropolitan Police renew their search for Mrs McKay’s remains, we hope some closure can be found after a long 54 years.”
Investigative Journalist Jane MacSorley says: “The name of our series originated from the words of a senior detective who was deeply involved in the case. He witnessed the unimaginable torment endured by the McKay family over days, weeks and months, describing Muriel’s kidnapping as ‘worse than murder.’
“Over the past months, Simon and I have had the privilege of meeting and getting to know Muriel’s three children, now in their 80s. Decades on, the horror of what they went through and still do to this day is palpable. Their living hell is still very much present, as their agonising wait to find their mother might very soon reach a resolution.
“In my extensive career as an investigative journalist, this story stands out like no other I have had the fortune to work on.”
Episode 1 will be released on BBC Sounds on Monday 15 July and the series will run weekly on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds from Weds 24 July at 9.30am.