Whole life sentence for Eastenders actress Sian Blake's killer
Arthur Simpson-Kent has been handed a whole life sentence for the murder of Eastenders actress Sian Blake and her two young sons.
The 49-year-old murdered his partner, 43, and their children, Zachary and Amon, eight and four.
Simpson-Kent was told he will spend the rest of his life behind bars after the savage killing of Ms Blake, who was terminally ill with motor neurone disease.
All three were hit on the head before being stabbed in the neck or throat by Simpson-Kent, who painted over bloodstains in their bungalow in Erith, south-east London, before fleeing to his native Ghana.
Mr Justice Singh, sentencing Simpson-Kent at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, ordered that he serve a "whole life" prison term for his barbaric crimes on the night of December 14 and 15 last year.
During sentencing, the court heard Ms Blake had recently been diagnosed with her illness
It was this - along with her "unhealthy" relationship with Simpson-Kent which led her to take the children and move back in with her mother.
Her illness would have left her unable to fight off her attacker, prosecutors said.
After their killings, Simpson-Kent sent texts from Ms Blake's phone so her family would think she was still alive.
While in Ghana, Simpson-Kent was seen "really partying" on New Year's Eve and told a man he had "killed his girlfriend first and killed the two children afterwards".
The cannabis dealer claimed he had killed his Ms Blake and their sons as part of an agreed murder-suicide pact due to her terminal illness.
But prosecutors said there was no evidence of this.
In a statement read in court, her mother Lindell Blake said the family were living a "life sentence" of pain and sorrow since the murders.
Ms Blake played Frankie Pierre in 56 episodes of EastEnders between 1996 and 1997.
Malcolm McHaffie, deputy chief crown prosecutor for London, said: "I hope the sentence passed today gives Sian’s family some small amount of comfort at this very difficult time.
"I would also like to thank the Ghanaian Authorities for their assistance in relation to the arrest and extradition of Simpson-Kent."