Arthur Simpson-Kent: Boyfriend of Sian Blake admits murder of ex-EastEnders star and her two sons

Killer: Arthur Simpson-Kent
Reuters
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

The boyfriend of ex-Eastender actress Sian Blake is facing life in prison after admitting murdering her and her two sons.

Arthur Simpson-Kent, 48, killed the 43-year-old actress and her sons Zachary, 8, and four-year-old Amon before burying their bodies in the back garden of their home in Erith.

He fled the UK for Ghana after the murders, in December last year, but was brought back to face justice after an international appeal to catch him.

Simpson-Kent, a hairdresser, admitted carrying out the triple killing at a hearing at the end of April but denied he was guilty of murder.

However, at the Old Bailey this morning, the killer finally confessed to the crimes.

Sian Blake and her children Zachary, eight, and Amon (right), four

Simpson-Kent appeared in court via videolink from HMP Belmarsh to enter the guilty pleas this morning.

Wearing a prison issue red t-shirt and dark trousers, he sat bold upright during the ring and spoke only to repeat the word 'guilty' three times.

Mr Justice Singh has remanded him in custody until a sentencing hearing on October 4.

The court heard Simpson-Kent's legal team will seek evidence about the "condition of the defendant" at the time of the murders ahead of sentencing.

Police officers are already facing an internal probe after it took three weeks for the bodies to be discovered, despite them being buried in the back garden of the family home.

Ms Blake, who suffered from motor neurone disease, starred in 56 episodes of Eastenders as singer Frankie Pierre and also appeared in The Bill, Casualty and Doctors before becoming a sign language teacher.

She was last seen alive on 13 December 2015, and three days later the NSPCC passed on concerns about the welfare of the children. However, officers who went to speak to Simpson-Kent at the house in Pembroke Road, Erith, left without making further enquiries.

He then fled to Glasgow on a coach, and flew to Ghana via Amsterdam in a bid to evade capture.

An international appeal was launched for help finding Sian and her sons, but murder detectives were called in when her abandoned Renault Scenic was found in Calvert Road, Bethnal Green, on 3 January this year.

Two days later, with the help of sniffer dogs, the bodies were retrieved from shallow graves in the back garden of the home in Erith.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in