The partner of the former EastEnders actor Sian Blake, who was arrested in Ghana over the alleged murder of her and her two sons, faces extradition to the UK as soon as he is formally identified by British police.
Arthur Simpson-Kent, 48, was arrested on Saturday after fleeing the UK following the death of Blake and their two children, Zachary, eight, and Amon, four. Once back in London, the former film and TV hairdresser will face questioning over the three deaths.
Simpson-Kent was arrested near the coastal resort of Busua after several villagers had tipped off local detectives. The BBC reported that Simpson-Kent had been cutting a coconut when armed police surrounded him.
About 10 police officers went to the beach where he was spotted hiding among some rocks. He was handcuffed and driven in a pick-up truck to Butre, a village nearby. His arrest involved Met and Ghanaian police and officers from Interpol.
Before the arrests, Simpson-Kent allegedly offered to give his iPad, smartphone and cash to a local craftsman and said he wanted to buy heroin so he could take a fatal overdose, the Mail reported. Idris Assoumana, a craftsman, told the paper he had an hour-long talk with him on the beach after confronting him over the murders.
“I told him that there was a murder inquiry about his partner and children and that their bodies had been found,’ said Assoumana. “He was calm but full of questions about how I knew.”
Assoumana said Simpson-Kent told him he was suicidal and wanted to “buy heroin so he could take an overdose”.
Simpson-Kent arrived in Ghana on 19 December – three days after police spoke to him about his missing partner and their children. Police in the UK began a murder investigation after the bodies of Blake and her two children were discovered in the garden of the family home in Erith, south-east London.
Detectives made the discovery on Tuesday and said significant attempts had been made to conceal the family’s remains. All three died as a result of head and neck injuries, police said.
It is understood concerns about domestic violence were raised with the NSPCC by a relative of Blake on 16 December, information which was passed on to the Metropolitan police and Bexley council.
A missing persons investigation was launched on the same day after police visited the home. But the bodies were not discovered until about three weeks later. An Independent Police Complaints Commission inquiry has been opened into Scotland Yard’s handling of the case.
The Home Office said the Met would have to formally identify Simpson-Kent first before extradition proceedings begin. The UK and Ghana have an extradition treaty.
The Met issued a short statement on Saturday: “We are currently working alongside the Ghanaian authorities but are not in a position to discuss further at this time.”