Arthur Simpson-Kent

Case identification

• Name: Arthur Simpson-Kent
• Age at sentencing: 49
• Age at time of offence (as described): 48
• Status: He was given a whole-life sentence after he pleaded guilty to the murders on 5 October 2016.
• Partner/victim: Sian Blake, 43, former EastEnders actress
• Victims (children): Zachary, eight; Amon, four

Timeline

• December 13, 2015 — Sian Blake, 43, and her sons Zachary (8) and Amon (4) were last seen visiting family in Leyton with Arthur Simpson-Kent.
• December 14, 2015 — Sian Blake was described as having made a telephone call to an acquaintance.
• December 16, 2015 — Police visited the family home in Erith after Sian Blake’s disappearance was reported; Arthur Simpson-Kent did not respond to calls.
• December 18, 2015 — Simpson-Kent fled to Ghana via Glasgow and Amsterdam after spending a night with a friend in Camden and taking £700 from Sian Blake’s partner’s bank account.
• December 19, 2015 — He arrived in Ghana (with a landing card date described as December 7).
• January 3, 2016 — Murder detectives took over the investigation.
• January 5, 2016 — Sian Blake’s silver-beige Renault Scenic was found in Bethnal Green; police found bodies buried in a shallow grave in the back garden.
• January 7, 2016 — British police contacted Ghanaian authorities about Simpson-Kent.
• January 9, 2016 — Simpson-Kent was arrested in Ghana (in a remote area including Busua/Butre).
• February (year not further specified) — He was extradited back to the UK after being arrested in Ghana.
• June 10, 2016 — He entered formal guilty pleas at the Old Bailey via video link from Belmarsh Prison.
• October 4, 2016 — A sentencing hearing date described as 4 October was mentioned.
• 5 October 2016 — He was given a whole-life sentence after he pleaded guilty to the murders.

Background

Arthur Simpson-Kent murdered his partner, former EastEnders actress Sian Blake, and their two sons Zachary and Amon at their home in Erith, London, in December 2015. Sian Blake played Frankie Pierre in EastEnders from 1996 to 1997 across 56 episodes.

Police believed he committed the murders because she was planning to leave him and take the children. The court heard that Sian Blake had motor neurone disease and that her condition and the state of their relationship led her to consider selling their home and moving back in with her close family. The court heard that she would not have been able to fight off an attacker due to her condition, including weakening of her arms and hands.

Family members said that Sian Blake was preparing to leave over the Christmas period, and they said she wanted to arrange her departure in a way that caused the minimum discomfort to Simpson-Kent. Her family also stated they suffered nightmares and grief after the murders. Cheryl Golding described nightmares and visions of “the terror in their eyes” and “the look that would have been on Sian’s face,” and said that Sian would have asked: “Why do people want to do that?”.

The court heard that the relationship with Simpson-Kent had been described by the family as “unhealthy and controlling.” Prosecutors said the evidence was not disputed that Simpson-Kent killed each victim in turn with heavy, deliberate, repeated blows with a blunt instrument not since recovered, and then by cutting and stabbing with a bladed weapon to ensure death. The court heard the bodies were concealed by moving, wrapping and burying them, and the home was cleaned and partially painted, including repainting.

The offence

Arthur Simpson-Kent killed:

• Sian Blake (43)
• Zachary (8)
• Amon (4)

The court was told the attack was premeditated or involved planning. The court also said each of the victims was particularly vulnerable because of age or disability. Prosecutors described serious aggravating features including:

• abuse of position of trust,
• concealment of the bodies,
• efforts to remove evidence, including repainting,
• seeking to lay a false trail by using Sian Blake’s mobile phone,
• lying to the police and others about the whereabouts of the family.

The court heard that Simpson-Kent told a psychiatrist:

He said: “something just snapped in me’”

He also said:

He added: ‘I felt as if I had just been pushed off a diving board and was falling. I grabbed hold of a small axe that was kept on a ledge in the kitchen. ‘Sian's head was bent low down and she was bent over looking at the floor. I approached her from the side and hit her at the back of her head as hard as I could and she fell unconscious at the first blow. ‘After that I hit her repeatedly on the head. My mind was blank and I was focusing on doing and not thinking. It was like I was there but not there.’

The court heard that the claim that he was depressed and planned to also kill himself was rejected. It was also said to be against this backdrop that guilty pleas were entered and that it was the defence case Simpson-Kent snapped under pressure of her disease and its inevitability.

Investigation

Police initially launched a missing persons investigation into Sian Blake and her children. Scotland Yard received complaints after a family member raised concerns with the NSPCC, and police officers went to the family home and spoke to Simpson-Kent. The court was told that, on the night of December 14, 2015, he killed each of them in turn and then concealed his crimes by moving, wrapping and burying each person, cleaning and partially painting the house, and misleading friends, family and police.

Police searched the home for forensic evidence after the case was taken over by murder detectives. Police said sniffer dogs led to a secluded area in the back garden where remains were uncovered despite “significant effort” to conceal them. The bodies were found buried in the back garden of the Pembroke Road bungalow where they lived, alongside trenches and a toy helicopter described as present at the time of discovery.

Detective Chief Inspector Graeme Gwyn said that Simpson-Kent claimed Sian Blake had expressed a desire to end her life as her motor neurone disease progressed and that they had agreed a suicide pact; Gwyn said he also suggested he killed his own children as agreed that no one else could raise them. Gwyn said Simpson-Kent’s claims caused further distress and were “just another attempt to save himself.” Gwyn also said Simpson-Kent did not take his own life and that his actions were not those of a man devastated or remorseful.

An NSPCC spokesman stated:

“The web of lies and deceit spun by Simpson-Kent before fleeing the country in a bid to evade justice prolonged the agony for Sian’s family. ‘Simpson-Kent is now behind bars for this heinous crime which not only robbed Sian’s family of a daughter and a sister, but also of any dreams, hopes and aspirations they had for her two young sons who had their whole lives ahead of them. ‘There were clearly concerns Sian and her sons were at risk of violence from Simpson-Kent and the NSPCC’s helpline received a call from a member of the public worried about their safety. ‘It’s right the Metropolitan Police has asked the Independent Police Complaints Commission to examine how they handled the investigation. ‘But it is a reminder that anyone concerned about a child being in immediate danger should call the police on 999, or the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000.”

Arrest and extradition

Simpson-Kent fled the UK and attempted to evade justice by going to Ghana. He was caught and returned to the UK.

Police said he booked a flight from Glasgow to Accra via Amsterdam. A message to a friend was given as:

“I can't go into details about what I have done but I only have 2 choices. Go to Ghana one way or Die (sic).”

While in Busua, a local man told the court he said he had killed his girlfriend first and then killed the two children afterwards. He was described as partying on New Year’s Eve and taking two young women to a cafe the following morning.

Detectives followed him to Ghana and arrested him on January 9. After being interviewed by detectives in Accra, he claimed there had been a murder-suicide pact between him and Sian Blake because of her illness, but nothing was written down. He told prosecutors the reason the children should be killed was that he was not in a good relationship with his in-laws and that they had agreed that the boys should be killed.

He was arrested and appeared in court in Ghana ahead of an extradition hearing. He waived his right to challenge an extradition order and told the magistrates he would voluntarily return to the UK. He responded “Yes my Lord” when asked to confirm his request and replied “No” when asked if he had been coerced. He said:

“Yes my Lord that is correct.”

He was remanded in custody and later extradited back to the UK in February. After agreeing to extradition, he was arrested at London Heathrow Airport.

Trial

Simpson-Kent pleaded guilty to the murders. He entered guilty pleas at the Old Bailey via video link from Belmarsh Prison.

He made a statement in mitigation through Jim Sturman QC, who said the couple had previously discussed “ending it all” because of her illness and that there was no agreement to kill in this way. The defence described the murder as not a mercy killing and said Simpson-Kent snapped under pressure of the disease.

During sentencing remarks, Mr Justice Singh said:

‘Each murder involved a substantial degree of premeditation or planning. ‘At the very least that must be true of the murder of each of the two little boys individually, and in turn after the defendant had already killed Sian Blake. ‘Further, and in any event, there were serious aggravating features of this case. Each of the victims was particularly vulnerable because of age or disability. ‘There was an abuse of position of trust. There was concealment of the bodies. He made efforts to remove evidence of his crimes at the house, including repainting. ‘He sought to lay a false trail by using Sian Blake's mobile phone. He lied to the police and others about the whereabouts of the family.’

Sentencing

On 5 October 2016, Simpson-Kent was given a whole-life sentence after he pleaded guilty to the murders.

Outcome

He was convicted after pleading guilty to the murders of Sian Blake and their sons Zachary and Amon and received a whole-life sentence.

Aftermath

Sian Blake’s mother and sister spoke in court statements about their grief and the impact of the murders. Lindell “Pansy” Blake said the family continued to suffer the impact of the killing of her “beautiful daughter” and her “angels” of grandsons and that the family had lived a “life sentence” of pain and sorrow since the murders.

In addition, Mrs Blake’s statement included:

“I would give my life for another moment with my daughter. Time is supposed to be a great healer but our wounds are open and bare for everyone to see. We have scars where Arthur has taken what was not his to take.”

Mrs Blake said:

‘We live knowing how Sian and the children would have been scared, terrified, before this monster slaughtered them in their own home.’

Ava Blake described how she believed texts had been sent from her sister’s phone and said:

“In the last year I have to admit my sister was not the vivacious, happy person she once was. She was a lot more quiet. She had asked to come back home and we said yes, so we really tried to plan on getting her to move back home”.

She also said:

“She said she would come back, sort of Christmas week, and after Christmas they would arrange about selling the property she lived in.”

She said:

“No way,” she said. “We're a big family and very, very close. She would never say that. She would never not speak to us.”

She added:

“We don't use text lingo. We write full sentences. Starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop. People always teased us but we did that.

She added:

“The way she signed off was to write 'Sian' - her full name - and cousins had nicknames and we would use them. The ones that came through were very poor grammatically, bad spelling, not my sister.”

She said she wanted Simpson-Kent “brought back to justice” and answered about what she did not know about his mind.

The investigation and handling of the missing persons phase was referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, and misconduct concerns were raised in relation to the police handling of the investigation.

Other details

• Police described the family home in Erith, Kent, as where Simpson-Kent concealed the bodies and attempted to remove evidence, including repainting and other concealment actions.
• Police launched a manhunt after Simpson-Kent fled.
• Sian Blake was described as terminally ill with motor neurone disease.
• Simpson-Kent was described as having fled via Glasgow and Amsterdam to Ghana and as having been arrested in Ghana in a remote area including Busua and Butre.
• A local witness said Simpson-Kent told them he had consumed coconuts and that he had a makeshift bed made out of bamboo; local reports described him drinking and dancing and living in a cliff-top lair above a remote beach.
• In Ghanaian court, the presiding judge asked Simpson-Kent if he was “coerced,” and Simpson-Kent replied “No.”