British fugitive charged with murder

The British fugitive accused of murdering his girlfriend and his two children was yesterday remanded in the custody of the Bureau of National Investigatons (BNI) by the Accra Magistrate Court.

The accused, Arthur Simpson-Kent, a 48-year-old unemployed, who appeared in court for the first time since his arrest on January 9, 2016, was charged with three counts of murder.

His plea was, however, not taken by the court, presided over by Ms Rosemond Dodua Agyiri.

Appearance

He was sent to the court in handcuffs and dressed in a dark grey T-shirt over a pair of black trousers.

The trial attracted the media, including the international press.

Throughout the committal hearing of the case, Simpson-Kent remained composed and calm and told the court that he had been treated well since his arrest.

Argument for remand
Making a case for the accused to be remanded, a Principal State Attorney, Mrs Rebecca Adjalo, said investigations into the case were currently ongoing, both in Ghana and the United Kingdom.

“We have security experts from the Metropolitan Police in the UK who have joined their counterparts in Ghana to expedite investigations into the case,” she said.

She argued that there were laws in place for the accused’s extradition to the UK where he would eventually face trial and gave an assurance that the Attorney-General’s (A-G’s) Department was communicating with its UK counterpart to fast-track the process.

However, counsel for the accused, Mr Justice Srem-Sai, told the court that he had been denied access to his client since his arrest, pointing out that that development infringed on the accused’s rights.

Court’s order
Responding to the concerns of the defence counsel, the court said counsel was entitled to see his client and, therefore, ordered the A-G’s Department to ensure that counsel had ample time to meet the accused.

It also ordered the A-G’s Department to make copies of extradition documents and the charge sheet available to the defence team.

Hearing was adjourned to January 26, 2016.

Background
Presenting the facts, Mrs Adjalo told the court that the accused was unemployed, while Sian Blake, 43, was his girlfriend.

The accused, she said, had two children, namely, Zachary Kent Blake, eight, and Amon Kent Blake, four, and resided in Erith in East London with Sian and the children.

On January 7, 2016, Interpol Accra received a request from Interpol Manchester, annexed, with an arrest warrant issued by the Westminster Magistrate Court against the accused for allegedly murdering his girlfriend and their two children.

She said Sian was last seen alive in Waltham Forest, East London, with her two sons on December 13, 2015.

On December 16, 2015, an aunt of Sian lodged a complaint with the local police about the disappearance of Sian and ,her two children.

The Principal State Attorney told the court that police officers visited the couple’s apartment in Erith on the same day and spoke to Simpson-Kent.

However, the accused, on seeing the police officers, was uncooperative and dismissive, telling the officers that Sian and the children had travelled to visit a friend in Cambridge and that he had not seen them.

“On January 3, 2016, Sian’s car was found parked in Bethnal Green, East London, with the inside splattered with blood,” the Principal State Attorney said.

Mother and children buried
Mrs Adjalo stated that when Sian and her children were not found after several days of search, the police visited the apartment in Erith again on January 5, 2016 but the accused had vacated the premises.

“After a thorough search on the premises, the officers found the bodies of Sian and the two children buried in a shallow grave in the garden behind the apartment.

“Intelligence revealed that Simpson-Kent had fled London to Ghana on December 19, 2016. While escaping from the UK, he is said to have travelled by coach to Glasgow in Scotland, from where he flew to Ghana via Amsterdam,” she said.

On arrival at the Kotoka International Airport, the prosecutor said, the accused entered December 7, 2015 on the Immigration form as the date on which he arrived in Ghana.

“Following the request from our British counterparts, the CID constituted a team to hunt for the accused, and on January 8, 2016 the team moved to Busua and Butre where he was believed to be hiding.

“After an intensive search for the accused, he was arrested in a thicket near Butre on January 9, 2016,” Mrs Adjalo stated.

Writer’s email: nana.agyeman@graphic.com.gh