Sian Blake: Missing boyfriend of Eastenders actress 'travelled to Africa via Amsterdam'

On the run: Arthur Simpson-Kent, pictured with Sian Blake's son Amon
Metropolitan Police
Ben Morgan|Matt Watts6 January 2016
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An international manhunt has today been launched to trace the boyfriend of EastEnders actress Sian Blake who was found buried in a garden grave alongside their two young children.

Detectives discovered the bodies of Ms Blake, 43, her sons Zachary, eight, and Amon, four, in the back garden of their family bungalow in Erith, south-east London, yesterday.

Her partner Arthur Simpson-Kent, 48, is now believed to be the focus of a hunt by international crime agency Interpol after claims he travelled to Ghana.

He was questioned by detectives who visited his home three days after Miss Blake and her sons were last seen alive.

A source told The Sun: “He made his way there, via Glasgow and Amsterdam, shortly before Christmas. Interpol have been informed and there is an alert out to find him.”

Detectives are now attempting to trace his mobile phone signal to pinpoint his movements over the past three weeks.

Last night Scotland Yard refused to confirm whether specialist homicide detectives were due to fly to Ghana as part of the murder probe.

Miss Blake and the two boys were last seen on December 13 when visiting relatives in Leyton, East London.

Sian Blake was found buried alongside her two sons in her garden

The Met was today facing fresh scrutiny over why the bodies of Miss Blake and her sons were missed during the initial searches of the property on December 18.

A formal missing persons’ appeal was not launched until January 1 - nineteen days after they were last seen alive.

The handling of the case by police in Bexley is now the subject of an investigation by the Directorate of Professional Standards.

Terminally-ill Miss Blake was in the latter stages of Motor Neurone Disease and had been forced to give up full-time acting due to her condition.

Police were also searching for Sian Blake's sons Zachary, eight, and Amon (right), four
Metropolitan Police

Throughout her 20-year career she was best known for her role as home-wrecker Frankie Pierre in Eastenders in the late nineties.

Text messages sent to family members from her phone claimed she wanted to spend her last Christmas alone with her sons.

A charity raised concerns about Miss Blake's welfare to police on December 16 and they questioned Simpson-Kent at the family home.

He vanished two days later and was classed a “high risk missing person” after officers failed to track him down.

Three bodies were removed from the garden yesterday
Gareth Fuller/PA

Miss Blake’s silver Renault Scenic car was found dumped in Bethnal Green on Sunday.

Mr Simpson-Kent is a self-employed hairstylist who claims on his website to have worked for Versace, Armani and Chanel.

He married French-born Dominique Deblieux in 1999 and has a 16-year-old daughter called Isis.

They later divorced and his wife and daughter moved to the south of France.

Forensic officers continued to search the couple’s detached 1930s bungalow late last night and were focusing on inside the property for clues.

An alleyway leading past the secluded and overgrown back garden of the property where the bodies were found was cordoned off by police.

Neighbours gathered in the street outside told of their shock at the horror on their quiet residential street.

Forensic officers in Sian Blake's garden
PA

One told the Standard: “It’s just the most shocking thing. It’s a complete tragedy.”

Another neighbour said: “I feel disgusted that this has happened. I was here when the police came on December 16.

“They came back every day since, knocking on the door, asking people questions.

“They broke a window at one stage and got in the house to look around and today they did the same but this time they’ve obviously found something. Sian was lovely. She was a really great neighbour.”

Miss Blake’s family lit candles outside their home in East London last night and her extended family in the United States, including her brother, have also been informed.

Post-mortem examinations on Miss Blake and her sons were expected to be carried out today at the Princess Royal Hospital, in Farnborough, to determine the cause of death.

A Met Police spokeswoman added: “We are trying to establish the movements of Arthur Simpson-Kent. We cannot confirm whether we have spoken to Interpol.”

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