By Pan Pylas
London: A man suspected of killing the wife and two daughters of a well-known BBC radio commentator in a brutal crossbow attack near London was a one-time member of the British army whose older brother is serving life in jail for murder.
Kyle Clifford, 26, was found by police in the Lavender Hill Cemetery in the Enfield area of North London, near his home, and is receiving medical treatment for injuries. Police did not say how those injuries happened but stressed they had not fired any shots.
Kyle Clifford was sought in connection to the three killings.Credit: AP
It followed a manhunt after the discovery of the three women in a home in Bushey, a residential area in northwestern London. The BBC confirmed that the women killed were members of the family of its commentator John Hunt – his 61-year-old wife, Carol Hunt, and their daughters Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25.
Police did not say how or whether Clifford, who is from London, was connected to the women, but British media reported that he was an ex-boyfriend of one of the daughters.
Footage from Sky News showed the suspect being carried on a stretcher out of Lavender Hill Cemetery, which is close to his home and about 52 kilometres east of where the killings took place. Armed police officers, forensic personnel and ambulance staff massed around the cemetery throughout the day.
The public had been urged not to approach Clifford, who served in the British Army for a brief period in 2022 but reportedly quit and became a security guard after struggling to adapt to the disciplined lifestyle.
Louise Hunt, Carole Hunt and Hannah Hunt were found dead in their home in Hertfordshire. Credit: Facebook
“Clifford joined the Army in 2019 and I was with him in basic training,” a former army colleague of Clifford’s told The Sun.
“When he joined the army, he was immature for his age and had a bit of a chip on his shoulder.
“He struggled to grasp basic military concepts but managed to reach the standard to pass out from training.”
One of three children, Clifford’s older brother Bradley is currently serving a life sentence for murder after chasing and deliberately mowing down a moped rider who damaged his car.
Six years ago, when Bradley Clifford was 23, he chased and mowed down Soban Khan, 18, and Jahshua Francis, 19, after they threw a bottle at his Ford Mustang following an altercation outside a bar in Enfield.
Both men were thrown into the air by the collision, and Mr Khan was then beaten by Clifford as he lay on the ground fatally injured.
John Hunt is the main racing commentator for BBC 5 Live, the broadcaster’s news and sports radio channel. His voice is known to millions through his coverage of the world-famous Grand National and The Derby.
Hunt’s colleague and BBC 5 Live’s lead presenter, Mark Chapman, struggled to hold back tears as he expressed everyone’s shock and pain.
“We have a football match to bring you tonight ... and we will start our buildup to it shortly, but this has been a heartbreaking day,” he said as he opened Wednesday’s coverage on 5 Live of England’s semifinal match against the Netherlands in soccer’s European Championship.
“John Hunt is our colleague and our friend, not just to the current 5 Live sport team but to all of those who’ve worked here with him over the past 20 years, and also to all of you who have enjoyed his superb commentaries,” Chapman said. “So, on behalf of everyone connected to 5 Live Sport, our love and thoughts and support are with John and his family.”
The Daily Mail newspaper and others reported that Hunt found his fatally injured wife and daughters early on Tuesday evening after returning home from reporting at Lingfield Park racecourse south of London.
Local council member Laurence Brass, who lives nearby, described the area as “a typical leafy British suburb” as he recounted his experience from the previous night.
“At about eight o’clock last night, I was watching the football on television, and suddenly a helicopter landed in the lawn outside my flat, which is at the top of this road, and then my phone started going, and I was told that there was a major incident here in Bushey and we should all keep away because there was somebody apparently on the run,” he told the BBC.
Police and emergency services at the Hunt home in Bushey, Hertfordshire.Credit: AP
People in Britain do not need a licence to own a crossbow, but it is illegal to carry one in public without a reasonable excuse.
A Home Office spokesperson said Cooper will “swiftly consider” the findings from a recently launched review into whether further controls on crossbows should be introduced.
AP
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