What we know as Kyle Clifford charged with murder of John Hunt’s wife and daughters

Ross McGuinness
Left to right: Hannah Hunt, Carol Hunt and Louise Hunt. (Facebook)
A man has been charged with the murders of, left to right, Hannah Hunt, Carol Hunt and Louise Hunt. (Facebook)

The daughter of a BBC commentator who was shot with a crossbow along with her sister and mother managed to call the police during the attack and told them she feared she was going to die.

Kyle Clifford, 26, was charged on Tuesday with the murders of Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters, Hannah Hunt, 28, and Louise Hunt, 25 - the wife and daughters of BBC racing commentator John Hunt - at their house on Ashlyn Close in Bushey, Hertfordshire, on 9 July.

Hannah was found lying in a doorway, having been shot by a crossbow in the chest, but had managed to call both police and ambulance to the scene.

Clifford appeared via video link at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday morning and has been remanded into custody to appear at the Central Criminal Court at the Royal Courts of Justice later this afternoon.

The brief hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court heard new details about the killings.

Hannah Hunt called the police and told them she feared she was going to die, the court heard.

Prosecutor David Burns said Hannah told them that she, her mother and her sister had been shot and that “she fears that she was going to die.”

He continued: “The phone call then cut off. She managed to re-establish contact and call an ambulance.”

The prosecutor told the court that the call was cut off again.

A court artist's drawing of Kyle Clifford appearing via videolink at Westminster Magistrates' Court. (Elizabeth Cook/PA)
A court artist's drawing of Kyle Clifford appearing via videolink at Westminster Magistrates' Court. (Elizabeth Cook/PA) (Elizabeth Cook/PA Wire)

The court heard that Louise Hunt had been found tied up when officers arrived at the scene.

She and her sister Hannah had been shot with a crossbow and their mother Carol had also been shot with the weapon and stabbed with a knife, suffering multiple injuries.

Clifford is accused of murdering Hannah Hunt, Carol Hunt and Louise Hunt, and also faces two counts of possession of an offensive weapon – one a 10-inch butcher’s knife and the other a compound crossbow.

The defendant faces a final count of false imprisonment which alleges that he “assaulted and unlawfully and injuriously imprisoned Louise Hunt and detained her against her will”.

Burns said: “Police attended the property – they found the front door was open.

Undated handout file photo issued by Hertfordshire Police of Kyle Clifford, 26, who has been arrested on suspicion of the crossbow murders of three family members of a BBC racing commentator and remains in a serious condition in hospital, Hertfordshire Police said. Issue date: Friday July 12, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story POLICE Bushey. Photo credit should read: Hertfordshire Police/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Kyle Clifford, 26, has been charged with the murders of a mother and her two daughters. (PA) (Hertfordshire Police/PA Wire)

“They found Hannah Hunt lying near the doorway. She had been shot with a crossbow in the chest.

“They went into the property and they found Louise Hunt had been tied ... she had also been shot with a crossbow.

“They also found their mother Carol Hunt – she had been stabbed with a knife and suffered multiple injuries.”

The chief magistrate, district judge Paul Goldspring, remanded Clifford in custody ahead of a hearing at the High Court on Tuesday afternoon, saying the case is being sent to the crown court.

Clifford was found injured in a cemetery in Enfield, north London, the day after the three women were killed, and was arrested.

Police had previously been unable to interview Clifford while he was being treated for his injuries in hospital, where he remained under arrest.

Detective chief inspector Nick Gardner, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: “Over the past couple of months, we have been working hard to gather as much evidence as possible and establish the full circumstances of what happened that day.

“Today, we have managed to secure charges against Kyle Clifford in connection with the murders of Carol, Hannah and Louise Hunt.

Floral tributes near to the scene in Ashlyn Close, Bushey, Hertfordshire, where Carol Hunt, 61, the wife of BBC Five Live racing commentator John Hunt, and two of their daughters, Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25, were killed in a crossbow attack at their home, on Tuesday. Triple murder suspect Kyle Clifford, 26, was found with injuries in Lavender Hill Cemetery in Enfield, north London, on Wednesday afternoon and was taken to a major trauma centre for treatment where he remains. Picture date: Thursday July 11, 2024. PA Photo. Police confirmed no shots had been fired by officers and said no arrest had yet been made. See PA story POLICE Bushey. Photo credit should read: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire
Floral tributes on Ashlyn Close, Bushey, Hertfordshire, where Carol Hunt and her daughters Hannah and Louise were killed. (PA) (Jonathan Brady/PA Wire)

“Although it has taken some time to reach this stage, we can now move forward with the judicial process and seek justice for their family.”

Hertfordshire Police were called to the home on Ashlyn Close in Bushey just before 7pm on Tuesday 9 July and the three women were found with serious injuries. Despite the efforts of paramedics, they died at the scene a short time later.

A manhunt was launched and police published Clifford's image and released his name and age the next morning. It was reported that Clifford was the ex-boyfriend of Louise Hunt.

A view of the scene in Ashlyn Close, Bushey, Hertfordshire, where the wife and two daughters of a BBC sports commentator have been killed in a crossbow attack at their home. Carol Hunt, 61, who was married to BBC Five Live racing commentator John Hunt, and two of their daughters died in Ashlyn Close, Bushey, Hertfordshire, on Tuesday evening. A manhunt has been launched for Kyle Clifford, 26, from Enfield, north London, who is wanted by detectives investigating the murders of the three women. Picture date: Wednesday July 10, 2024. PA Photo. See PA story POLICE Bushey. Photo credit should read: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire
The scene at Ashlyn Close, Bushey, Hertfordshire, after the three women were killed. (PA) (Jonathan Brady/PA Wire)

It was reported that Clifford had briefly served in the army - he had been a member of the Queen’s Dragoon Guards before dropping out in 2022.

It also emerged that Clifford's brother, Bradley, was a convicted murderer, and was jailed for life in 2018 with a minimum term of 23 years for the murder of moped passenger Soban Khan, 18.

He mowed down a moped and beat the teenager to death after his Ford Mustang was damaged in Enfield.

Mr Hunt and his third daughter Amy previously issued a statement after the killings, which said: “The devastation we are experiencing cannot be put into words.”

Many of the details surrounding the deaths of the three women remain unknown.

Police have been examining just how long they were held in their home, with one line of inquiry that they were held captive for hours.

A view of Lavender Hill Cemetery in Enfield, north London, where triple murder suspect Kyle Clifford, 26, was found with injuries on Wednesday afternoon, after Carol Hunt, 61, the wife of BBC Five Live racing commentator John Hunt, and two of their daughters, Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25, were killed in a crossbow attack at their home in Bushey, Hertfordshire, on Tuesday. Picture date: Thursday July 11, 2024. PA Photo. The 26 year-old suspect was taken to a major trauma centre for treatment, where he remains. Police confirmed no shots had been fired by officers and said no arrest had yet been made.? See PA story POLICE Bushey. Photo credit should read: Yui Mok/PA Wire
Kyle Clifford was arrested at Lavender Hill Cemetery in Enfield, north London. (PA) (Yui Mok/PA Wire)

Any motive for the alleged murders has also not been established, and may only be revealed in any subsequent court proceedings. Clifford was reported to be Louise Hunt's ex-boyfriend and police said he was known to the victims.

The extent of Clifford's injuries was also not released, nor how he acquired them, although Sky News broadcast footage of him being taken out of Lavender Hill Cemetery in Enfield on a stretcher the day after the murders.

John Hunt has been a racing commentator for BBC 5 Live for 20 years.

Before his career in broadcasting, Hunt worked as a police officer. He credited his wife Carol with inspiring him to take up a career in sports journalism because of his love of horse racing.

In a statement released after the killings, Hunt and his other daughter, Amy, said: “We would like to thank people for their kind messages and for the support we have received in recent days.

"These have provided great comfort to us for which we are very grateful."

John Hunt and his wife Carol. (Facebook)
BBC racing commentator John Hunt and his wife Carol, who was murdered in July. (Facebook) (Facebook)

In another statement to Sky Sports Racing viewers, Hunt said: "Amy, my eldest daughter, has been magnificently inspirational with her control and support for me, which I am trying, trying so hard, to replicate."

An online fundraiser on GoFundMe for Amy, run by Hunt's friend and ITV racing commentator Matt Chapman, has raised more than £122,000.

Chapman wrote: "On the back of the horror, I know John would so dearly love Amy to be able to get through life without any financial worries."

Chapman wrote that Hunt is "widely seen as one of the most talented and nicest blokes you could meet" and a "true family man".

He added: "Hunty has always oozed decency."

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