Suspect to the murder of former EastEnders actress Sian Blake and her two sons appeared in a court in Ghana. Extradition process was confirmed earlier this week after prosecutors say they were still waiting for the request.
Arthur Simpson-Kent arrived in Accra's Kaneshie Magistrate Court wearing the same grey shirt and jeans that he wore while he was detained in Ghanna. According to The Guardian, he was told by Magistrate Rosemund Dodua Agyiri that he would be remanded in custody in the high security prison for two weeks while the extradition proceedings are being processed. He was also told not to enter a plea.
Simpson-Kent was previously expected to appear in court on Monday, however, he was still being held by officers from Bureau of National Investigation in Ghana. A state lawyer also called for adjournment until Tuesday.
According to Mirror, Simpson-Kent is the suspect for the murder of actress Sian Blake and her children. The last time he talked to the police was on December 16, three days after the family was reported missing. The bodies were found three weeks later in the garden in their house in Erith, South London. Initial postmortem tests suggest that they died due to injuries in the head and neck.
Moreover, issues have also surfaced after British authorities failed to send extradition papers to the Ghana court. According to Telegraph, prosecutors stated that they were forced to work off the documents provided by Interpol as the British officials did not send in extradition papers three days after Simpson-Kent was detained on Ghanaian beach.
Word got to the prosecutors that the British authorities failed to process the extradition documents as they were not expecting to have the suspect to be immediately caught.
"We are waiting for the documents for the extradition from the United Kingdom authorities and when we get it, the extradition process will commence", Principal state attorney Rebecca Adjalo said.
"The United Kingdom was not expecting that the accused would be apprehended within this short time and that might be the cause of us not having the documents yet", she added.
However, the case is expected to move forward soon as Crown Prosecution Service confirmed that the extradition process is already ongoing.
Sian Blake played the role of Frankie Pierre in the BBC show EastEnders from 1996 to 1997. She was murdered along with her sons, Zachary aged 8 years old, and Amon who was 4 years old.
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