Sian Blake: Family of EastEnders actress speak out amid fears that her partner has fled the country

Justin Davenport7 January 2016
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The sister of murdered ex-EastEnders actress Sian Blake has called for the victim’s boyfriend to be “brought back to justice” amid fears he has fled the country.

Detectives are trying to trace Arthur Simpson-Kent, 48, after the bodies of his partner Ms Blake and their two children Zachary, eight, and Amon, four, were this week found buried in the back garden of their home in Erith.

He is believed to have flown to Ghana after their disappearance on December 13.

Today Ava said: “Unfortunately I believe Arthur was responsible. I want him to face justice and explain why.”

Speaking at Scotland Yard’s headquarters alongside her mother Pansy, she went on: “It’s my nephews more than anything.

“My brother is angry. My cousins are angry. They are angry about Sian but the boys have devastated us. We have lost a generation. We can never replace them.

Vanished: Arthur Simpson-Kent with Amon
Metropolitan Police

“I want Arthur to be brought back to justice. He’ll have to answer to the courts of this country and to God eventually.

“I don’t know what is going through his mind.”

Also today Simpson-Kent’s daughter by a previous relationship said she could not believe he is the killer.

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

Isis Deblieux, 18, said: “I cannot believe my own father is accused of doing this. It is like a stranger killed the two children.”

Speaking from her home in the south of France, Ms Deblieux told the Mirror: “I never met the boys. It is very sad.”

Her mother Dominique, who married Simpson-Kent in east London in 1999, has claimed the unemployed hairdresser used to beat her and her baby daughter.

He is believed to have left for Ghana on a KLM flight from Amsterdam just three days after speaking to police about his missing partner and their children.

Scotland Yard has referred its handling of the early stages of the case to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, amid questions over why it took so long to escalate the missing persons inquiry.

Today police dismissed as nonsense claims by a former Met murder detective that worries over costs could have played a role in delays to the investigation.

Ms Blake, 43, who had motor neurone disease, played Frankie Pierre in EastEnders in the Nineties. She was last seen with her sons when she visited relatives in Waltham Forest on December 13.

Police called at her home in Erith on December 16 and spoke to Mr Simpson-Kent, who reported them missing. However, officers did not issue an appeal to find the three missing people until January 1.

Her car was found on January 3 in Calvert Avenue, Bethnal Green.

The case was taken over by murder squad detectives on Monday, who ordered thorough searches of the house and garden. Three unidentified bodies were found the next day in shallow graves in the back garden.

One neighbour told today how Simpson-Kent, 48, kept police waiting outside his home for 10 minutes when they first called round.

The mother of two, who did not want to be named, said: “He was very animated and waving his arms. It was clear he didn’t want the police to come in. It was very strange.”

Yesterday an aunt of Ms Blake questioned why it took so long for officers to discover the bodies.

A post mortem examination to establish how Ms Blake and her children died is continuing for a second day.

The Met is also conducting a serious case review, which is standard in major cases, to look at what lessons can be learned from the investigation.

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