Man charged with three murders after Bushey crossbow killings

Contributed Composite image showing Carol Hunt, Louise Hunt and Hannah Hunt — Carol Hunt and her daughters Louise and Hannah were killed in the attack

A man has appeared in court charged with the murders of a woman and two of her daughters in a crossbow attack at their home.

Carol Hunt, 61; Hannah Hunt, 28, and Louise Hunt, 25, were found fatally injured in Bushey, Hertfordshire, on 9 July.

Kyle Clifford, 26, from north London, was arrested after being found injured having “shot himself with a crossbow in the chest” in a cemetery in Enfield on 10 July, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.

The defendant, who was also charged with false imprisonment and two counts of possession of offensive weapons, was remanded in custody and is due to appear at the Royal Courts of Justice later.

Kyle Clifford will appear via video link from police custody at the court hearing later

Hertfordshire Police Murder suspect Kyle Clifford with short black hair and a beard, wearing a suit. — Kyle Clifford will appear via video link from police custody at the court hearing later

Police had previously been unable to interview Mr Clifford while he received treatment for his injury in hospital, where he remained under arrest.

The victims were the wife and daughters of BBC racing commentator John Hunt.

A brief court hearing was told the weapons Mr Clifford was accused of having at the Hunt family home were an MX-405 compact crossbow and a 10-in (25cm) “butcher’s knife”.

Police and the ambulance service had been called to the property by Hannah Hunt, prosecutor David Burns said.

“Police found Hannah Hunt lying in the doorway. She’d been shot by a crossbow in the chest,” Mr Burns said.

He added that Louise Hunt was found “tied to a chair” and Carol Hunt had suffered both crossbow and knife wounds.

Carol Hunt was the wife of BBC racing commentator John Hunt

Contributed John Hunt dressed in a white shirt and pink-spotted tie smiling at the camera with his arm around his wife Carol, who is laughing and looking at her husband — Carol Hunt was the wife of BBC racing commentator John Hunt

Mr Clifford, who appeared at court via video link from Kempston police station, in Bedfordshire, nodded when asked to confirm his name and address.

A fundraiser set up to support Mr Hunt and his surviving daughter, Amy, in the aftermath of the incident saw more than £120,000 in donations pledged.

In a previous statement, Mr Hunt and Amy said their devastation “cannot be put into words”.

Det Ch Insp Nick Gardner, of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: “We have been working hard to gather as much evidence as possible and establish the full circumstances of what happened that day.

“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.”