Former Metropolitan Police detective Steve Keogh has detailed the most harrowing murders he investigated during his career, including the case of EastEnders actress Sian Blake
A former detective has shared insights into his policing career, recounting some of the most distressing investigations he undertook while serving with the Metropolitan Police.
Former New Scotland Yard murder detective Steve Keogh discussed some of the capital’s most shocking crimes, including what he described as the most disturbing cases of his career.
Among the investigations Mr Keogh handled was the disappearance and killing of 43-year-old EastEnders actress Sian Blake, who, along with her two sons Zachary, eight, and Amon, four, was murdered by her partner Arthur Simpson-Kent.
Simpson-Kent stabbed Ms Blake, who had motor neurone disease, and her two young sons before concealing their bodies in the garden beside the family bungalow in south-east London in December 2015.
Following the killings, he covered bloodstains with paint in an apparent attempt to hide evidence before fleeing to Ghana in January 2016. He was later detained at Heathrow Airport following his extradition to the UK. After a trial at the Old Bailey, he was convicted and received a whole life order, reports the Mirror.
Steve was among the detectives who worked on the case following initial reports of Blake’s disappearance. He said it quickly became clear this was not a routine missing persons inquiry.
Speaking to Ladbible, he said Simpson-Kent had claimed Blake had left with the children — a claim that immediately raised alarm given her medical 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 uncover evidence of trauma in the kitchen that had been concealed under paint.
Officers then began searching for the boys, with Keogh admitting he still held out hope they might be alive. Attention eventually shifted to the garden, where cadaver dogs were deployed to search for human remains.
Four days into the investigation, Keogh received a telephone call from the scene confirming a harrowing discovery — Blake and her sons had been found buried together.
Reflecting on the case, he described it as one of the most devastating moments of his career, particularly once 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.”
