Former detective Steve Keogh has spoken about what it was like investigating the murder of EastEnders actress Sian Blake who was killed in December 2015
Former New Scotland Yard murder detective Steve Keogh
A former detective has opened up about his career, detailing some of the most harrowing cases he worked on during his time with the Metropolitan Police service.
Former New Scotland Yard murder detective Steve Keogh spoke about investigating some of the most horrific crimes, including what he described as the most awful cases of his career.
One of the cases Mr Keogh investigated was the disappearance and murder of 43-year-old EastEnders actress Sian Blake, who, along with her two sons Zachary, eight, and Amon, four, was killed by her partner Arthur Simpson-Kent.
Simpson-Kent stabbed Ms Blake, who had motor neurone disease, and her two sons before burying them in the garden next to the family bungalow in south-east London in December 2015.
After the murders, he painted over bloodstains in an apparent attempt to cover his tracks before fleeing to Ghana in January 2016. He was later arrested at Heathrow Airport after being extradited back to the UK.
Following a trial at the Old Bailey, he was found guilty and handed a whole life order.
Steve was among the officers who investigated the case after the initial reports of Blake’s disappearance. He said it quickly became clear that it was not a routine missing persons case.
Speaking to Ladbible, he said Simpson-Kent had claimed Blake had left with the boys — something that raised immediate concerns given her condition.
He said: “It just didn’t sit right, she couldn’t look after herself, how could she look after herself and these two little boys? So, we decided that we would now going to treat it as a murder unless proven otherwise.
“So we went back to her house and a colleague of mine went in and one of the first things they noticed was, in the kitchen, there were obvious signs of trauma, but it had been painted over as if somebody had been trying to cover up the crime scene.”
Keogh said investigators later used UV light to reveal signs of trauma in the kitchen that had been painted over. Officers then began searching for the boys, with Keogh admitting he still hoped they might be alive.
Attention eventually turned to the garden, where cadaver dogs were brought in to search for human remains.
Four days into the investigation, Keogh received a call from the scene confirming a grim discovery — Blake and her sons had been found buried together.
Reflecting on the case, he said it marked one of the lowest points of his career, particularly when it became clear the children had also been killed.
He said: “I think for me it was probably one of the lowest points of my career. To have that hope that. You have that acceptance that something’s happened to Sian.
“But you have that hope that, not the boys, why would he hurt the boys? When we got that phone call it was horrible to know that he had done that to them.”
“And then when the post-mortems happen, and you see the way that in which they were killed, and that the last thing they would’ve seen is their dad brutally attacking them in the way he did was was awful.”
