Arthur Road in Wimbledon is leafy and prosperous, located conveniently close to the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, but otherwise unremarkable. Yet as 1969 gave way to 1970, this was the sight of a horrific crime, the kidnap of Australian-born housewife Muriel McKay, who was never seen again, and whose body was never recovered.
As to why she was taken, this was seemingly down to mistaken identity. McKay was the wife of Alick McKay, a senior executive with News Limited. Her abductors’ real target was Anna Murdoch, wife of newspaper tycoon Rupert, who had recently published The Sun and News of the World. Nevertheless, in the wake of Muriel’s kidnapping, a caller who identified himself as ‘M3’ demanded a payment of £1m, and there were even unsuccessful attempts to deliver part of the cash.