by Mick the Ram

A man wanted in connection with the horrific triple crossbow murder of the wife and two youngest daughters of a BBC horse racing commentator, has been apprehended.

Carol Hunt, 61, Hannah Hunt, 28, and Louise Hunt, 25, were found with serious injuries at their home in a leafy suburb of Bushey, in Hertfordshire, after neighbours reported hearing screams at around 7pm on Tuesday 9 July.

The women received frantic medical attention at the property from the emergency services, but tragically all three died at the scene.

An extensive manhunt had been underway for Kyle Clifford, known to be the ex-boyfriend of the youngest daughter, when he was traced to a location in North London, almost 24-hours later, with self-inflicted wounds of his own. 

John Hunt, has worked for the BBC for over 20 years and his voice is known to millions through his commentaries of the Grand National and The Derby, as well as many other sporting events, and was due to be part of the broadcasters coverage of the upcoming Paris Olympics.

Tracked down 23 hours later

Armed police had been unsuccessful in their search when they raided an address in Enfield, North London on the morning of Wednesday 10 July, but at around 6.30pm later that day they locked down an area around Lavender Hill cemetery, just a few miles away.

Footage showed Clifford – who for a short time served in the British Army – being carried away on a stretcher.

Nobody else involved

Detective Inspector Justine Jenkins, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, confirmed that the suspect had been apprehended with injuries, but no shots had been fired.

She asked for the Hunt family to be given privacy in what she described as “an incredibly difficult time”. She did add that nobody else was being sought in connection with the investigation.

Crossbow licensing laws likely to be reviewed

Currently people in the UK do not need a license to own a crossbow, but it is illegal to carry one in public without a reasonable excuse.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said the new British Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, was being kept “fully informed” about the “truly shocking” incident and is likely to “swiftly consider” the findings from a recently launched review into whether further controls on crossbows should be introduced.

Difficult split

It has materialised that in the weeks before this horrific incident, the youngest daughter, Louise – who owned her own dog grooming business which she ran from the house where the murders took place – had split with Clifford and it was proving to be a difficult break-up.

A neighbour reported that her mother was particularly concerned with what she had described as a “messy” situation.  

Racing community pays their respect

The horse-racing community has rallied around John Hunt after the shocking event. Jockey’s have worn black armbands across the country for the past two days of racing, with a minute’s silence also being observed.

Chief Executive of the British Horse-racing Authority (BHA) spoke of the shock that had been felt throughout the sport. “It is impossible to comprehend the horror that has been inflicted upon the family; John is a great friend to many in our sport and I am sure that in this time of unimaginable grief for him, the racing family will rally around as we have seen many times before when one of our number is faced with great trauma.”

Hugely popular figure

Mr Hunt, who has a third daughter, Amy, worked for the police before beginning his broadcasting career in the 1980’s. He was actually returning from commentating on races at Lingfield Park, on the day of the tragedy.

The popular broadcaster has formed a key part of the BBC’s summer and winter Olympic commentary team since the London Games of 2012, covering swimming, diving, equestrian sports, and modern pentathlon, as well as occasionally commentating on football.

Brother of accused serving life for murder

In a further shocking development, it has also emerged that Clifford’s brother, Bradley Clifford, is serving a life sentence over the murder of a moped driver.

Also from Enfield, the brother pursued Soban Khan, 18, and Jahshua Francis, 19, through the streets of the town and collided with the pair in his Ford Mustang, after they apparently hit his vehicle with a bottle.

Both victims were flung into the air by the crash. Bradley Clifford then proceeded to beat Mr Khan as he lay on the ground and sadly he later died, and a post-mortem gave his cause of death as multiple injuries. Mr Francis was badly injured, but thankfully did recover.

In 2018, a jury at the Old Bailey found Bradley Clifford guilty of murder and attempted GBH with intent. He was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 23 years for the murder of Mr Khan and seven years for the attack on Mr Francis.