Killer of Eastenders actress Sian Blake and her two children revealed by text message reasons for murdering trio
Arthur Simpson-Kent reached out to his mum and faces three life sentences after admitting slaughtering family
A TEXT message from triple killer Arthur Simpson-Kent explains his reasons why he took the lives of ex-Eastenders actress Sian Blake and her two young sons.
Explaining his actions to his mum, he claimed it was because Sian was terminally ill and there would be nobody able to look after the kids.
Chilling pictures show the back garden shallow graves where Arthur Simpson-Kent buried the bodies of Sian and her two young sons.
Simpson-Kent admitted all three murders this morning and now faces life behind bars.
He wrote: "Why Ghana? I wanted to die in the place I was born and now is the time.”
His mum begged him not to commit suicide and days later he was found after spending time at beachside bars and was found after locals recognised him following a social media led manhunt.
Cops scoured their family home in South London after 43-year-old Sian and her boys Zachary, eight, and Amon, four, were reported missing in December.
Forensic teams set up tents as they dug trenches and examined a sinister metal bonfire bin at the crime scene.
Childrens' toys and gardening tools were scattered around the area where cops found their bodies with fatal wounds to their necks and heads.
The harrowing images above show disturbed earth where police dug up the three bodies.
Simpson-Kent, 48, faces three life sentences after slaughtering Sian, 43, Zachary, 8, and four-year-old Amon, before fleeing to Africa.
Their bodies were found at their home in Erith, South London with head and neck injuries.
The killer appeared at the Old Bailey via videolink from HMP Belmarsh to enter the guilty pleas on Friday morning.
He wore a prison issue red t-shirt and dark trousers and spoke only to repeat the word 'guilty' three times to each charge.
Simpson-Kent showed no emotion as he admitted to the killings during the five-minute hearing.
Five members of Sian's family, including her mum Lyndall and sister Ava, were in court to hear his admission.
Outside, her sister Ava smiled and said the family were "really relieved".
Detective Chief Inspector Graeme Gwyn, Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: "Arthur Simpson-Kent has never given a reason as to why he killed Sian, Zachary and Amon in the way that he did.
"Sian's close-knit family are devastated by the loss of their much loved sister, daughter and cousin.
"The deaths of Zachary and Amon have compounded their grief and they have lost two entire
generations of their family to a violent and completely senseless act of murder at the hands of Simpson-Kent.
"Our efforts to bring Simpson-Kent back to the UK to face justice were greatly expedited by the help we received from the Ghanaian authorities and the National Crime Agency, who alongside us, ensured
Simpson-Kent was arrested as soon as possible and returned to the UK.
Timeline of evil: How Arthur Simpson-Kent murdered his family and fled from cops
13 December 2015: Sian and her children are last seen alive
14 December 2015: Sian makes a final phone-call to a friend
16 December 2015: Sian’s sister receives a text from her phone saying she and the children needed to get away for a while.
Cops believe they were already dead at this time
- Sian and the boys are reported missing to Bexley police and a search is launched
- Police visit the family home and speak to Arthur Simpson-Kent but do not follow up their inquiries.
- He flees the country flying from Glasgow to Accra Airport in Ghana, after withdrawing £700 from Sian’s bank account
3 January 2016: Search becomes a murder investigation
5 January 2016: Their bodies are found buried in shallow graves in their back garden
9 January 2016: Police travel to Ghana an arrest Simpson-Kent
12 February 2016: He is extradited to the UK and charged with the killings
10 June 2016: Simpson-Kent pleads guilty to three counts of murder
"We now await the sentence date of the 4 October where I hope the family can get some form of closure for what has been, and continues to be, an incredibly difficult time for them."
The killer's defence team requested time to assess his "condition" at the time of the murders, indicating they could look for a reduced sentence due to diminished responsibility.
Hairdresser Simpson-Kent was arrested after neighbours in his Ghanaian hide-away recognised him from media appeals.
He was formally arrested by Met Police after arriving at Heathrow airport in shorts and flip-flops after hiding away in a beach hut in the African village of Butre.
At a previous court hearing his lawyer indicated he would admit manslaughter but deny murder.
He allegedly told cops he killed Sian as an act of mercy as she had been diagnosed with terminal motor neurone disease.
Sian played Frankie Pierre in 56 episodes of Eastenders between 1996 and 1997.
She also appeared in 1998 film Siberia.
Shortly after she was forced to quit acting due to ill-health.
The Met has been heavily criticised for letting Simpson-Kent slip through their fingers and leave the country after Sian and the kids went missing.
Sian disappeared on 13 December last year and three days later the NSPCC passed on concerns about the welfare of the children.
Cops went to her home and spoke to Simpson-Kent at the house in Pembroke Road but left without making further enquiries.
He told them Sian and the kids had gone to visit friends in Cambridge.
When officers returned to the house on December 16 Simpson-Kent had already fled the country.
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