Sian Blake murderer was arrested 'drinking out of a coconut' By Pippa Stephens

BBC News, London Published duration 10 June 2016

media caption Sian Blake's killer was arrested in Ghana

Arthur Simpson-Kent was drinking out of a coconut on the rocky shore of a palm-lined cove in Ghana when he was arrested for the murder of his partner Sian Blake and their two young boys.

The former EastEnders actor and her sons were found buried in the garden of their family home in Erith, south-east London, on 5 January.

Simpson-Kent's arrest four days later came after locals in the backpacker resort of Busua recognised him as the person they had partied with on New Year's Eve.

Seeing his pictures on social media, they tipped off police - while fishermen had also spotted the 48-year-old swimming in the gentle waves among wooden fishing boats.

image caption Local fishermen had spotted Simpson-Kent swimming in the sea

Nearly a month earlier, Simpson-Kent had made the 3,165-mile journey from London to the Ghana's capital, Accra, after he had been questioned by police.

His journey to West Africa began when Ms Blake and the couple's children Zachary and Amon - who reportedly adored his father - were reported missing on 16 December.

The police questioned the hairdresser on the same day.

Simpson-Kent told officers his 43-year-old partner and the children, aged eight and four, had gone to visit a friend in Cambridge.

That same day, the actor's sister received a text from Ms Blake's telephone saying she and her children needed to get away for a while - detectives believe Simpson-Kent had already murdered his family at this point and sent the text himself.

image caption A man led heavily-armed Ghanaian police down a small, shaded path to the murderer

A successful actor, in addition to EastEnders Ms Blake also had roles in The Bill, Doctors and Skins.

The last time she and her two children were seen was on 13 December, when they visited her family in Leyton.

And the last time anyone heard from her was the afternoon of 14 December, when she spoke to an acquaintance on the phone.

Her body was found next her two sons three weeks later after an extensive police search.

Half way around the world, after landing in Accra, Simpson-Kent headed west along a long coastal road lined with stalls and single-storey houses towards Takoradi, a coastal city.

He apparently visited his grandmother in Cape Coast, a fishing town, along the way.

As the police hunt for Simpson-Kent unfolded, and Ms Blake's family made tearful pleas at home in London for him to return, the killer partied in Busua with the locals.

image copyright Reuters image caption Simpson Kent was reportedly 'paraded' by Ghanaian authorities after his arrest

Roger Camden met Ms Blake's killer in a cafe.

"We met and had a coffee, he said he was going to relocate here. I just didn't put it all together, even though I had seen his photograph," he said.

After identifying him, the owner of a different local cafe in Busua told the local assembly men, who called the police chief.

The cafe owner told BBC News "he was carrying a knife, just a knife".

Heavily-armed Ghanaian police were led down a small, shaded path through coconut palms to the murderer.

Simpson-Kent was reportedly asked to put his hands up and kneel down. He put down the knife he was wielding and a bag he was carrying as police arrested him.

image copyright PA image caption Ms Blake's body was found next her two sons three weeks after she was reported missing

Back at home, in the couple's neighbourhood

Ms Blake's sister Ava has said Ms Blake had been wanting to end her relationship with Simpson-Kent but that she "hadn't quite made that break or that decision to leave Arthur".

She said: "I'm not going to see them grow up. I loved her and I was proud of her as an actress and I just wanted the best for her, and my nephews.

"Our brothers, our cousins are angry. They are angry about Sian, but the boys have devastated us.