Former soldier Kyle Clifford raped and murdered Louise Hunt, and killed her sister Hannah and mother Carol in attacks described by police as “barbaric”. What happened and what has emerged since?

Warning: This article contains details that some people may find distressing

Days before the attacks, Louise had ended an 18-month relationship with Clifford.

She told Clifford, who she had met through a dating app, it was “sucking the life out of me”.

Her family were relieved. They did not like the way Clifford treated Louise, finding him disrespectful, arrogant, rude and “odd”.

He had hidden relationships with other women from Louise, and went on a dating site moments after receiving the message ending theirs.

But less than a fortnight later, Louise, Hannah and Carol were dead, murdered by Clifford who had armed himself and tricked his way into the family home in Bushey, Hertfordshire.

Senior investigating officer Det Ch Insp Nick Gardner said Clifford’s behaviour “appears to have escalated at an unprecedented rate”, and he “plotted a meticulously planned attack on Louise and members of her family”.

Six days before the murders, Clifford, now 26, legally purchased a crossbow online, along with a cocking device and six bolts, for £350.

He also bought a specialist butchering knife, rope, petrol cans and duct tape, and ordered an air pistol, which never arrived.

The day before the killings, Clifford searched YouTube for a podcast from influencer and self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate.

When Clifford arrived at the family’s home in Ashlyn Close, a cul-de-sac, at lunchtime on 9 July, he checked the driveway to see how many vehicles were there.

He then searched for “horse racing today” on his phone.

Police believe he was trying to establish if Louise’s father John, a BBC racing commentator, was at home.

About 40 minutes later, Carol, 61, answered the door to Clifford, who pretended he wanted to return some of Louise’s possessions.

“He also asks Carol if John is home,” said Det Ch Insp Gardner.

“Once inside, he attacks Carol, killing her with the knife he had concealed in his bag.”

Meanwhile, Louise, 25, who ran a dog-grooming business, was working in a pod in the garden.

“She is completely unaware of the assault inflicted on her mother, just metres away in the family home,” said the officer.

Clifford returned to his Seat Ibiza car to collect the crossbow, and went back into the house.

An hour later, Louise entered the house, where Clifford was waiting. He restrained and raped her.

He then waited more than two hours, even texting John using Louise’s phone to ask when he would be home.

Once Hannah, 28, had returned home, he killed Louise with the crossbow.

Hannah, still in her beautician’s workwear, entered and went upstairs, at first unaware of the horror unfolding.

Shortly afterwards, she texted her partner, urging him to call police.

Clifford then shot her with the crossbow and fled. Fatally wounded, Hannah managed to call 999.

But when emergency services arrived a few minutes later, they were unable to save her, and her sister and mother were dead.

Police later found the petrol cans empty in the boot of Clifford’s car.

His thumbprint was found on one of three bottles of vodka on a sideboard in the Hunts’ home, and he had also searched on the internet whether alcohol was flammable.

Although no fire was started, the prosecution said he had “clearly contemplated the use of fire at some point in order to destroy evidence”.

Det Ch Insp Gardner said the killings were “barbaric” and a “completely unnecessary use of violence simply due to a break-up that [Clifford] should have handled better”.

What followed was “the most significant” manhunt in Hertfordshire Police’s recent history, according to local commander Ch Supt Jon Simpson.

• 09:54 BST: Clifford goes to a garden centre with his mother, father and niece
• 13:07: He drives the 20 miles from his home in Enfield, north London, to the Hunts’ home in Bushey
• 13:37: He arrives near their home, checks the driveway and searches for “horse racing today” on his phone
• 14:32: Carol answers the door to Clifford. Once inside, he kills her with the knife concealed in his bag. Louise, unaware of the assault, is working in the pod in the garden
• 15:07: Clifford goes back to his car and collects the crossbow, hiding it under a blanket
• 16:12: Louise enters the house, where Clifford is waiting. Using duct tape, he restrains and rapes her. He then texts John using Louise’s phone to ask when he will be home
• 18:50: Clifford shoots Louise with the crossbow around the time Hannah arrives home. Hannah, unware of what has happened, enters and goes upstairs
• 18:52: Hannah texts her partner, telling him to call police. Two minutes later, Clifford shoots her and leaves with the crossbow. Fatally injured, Hannah calls 999 but dies shortly after
• 19:10: Emergency services arrive at the house. Carol and Louise Hunt are found dead and unsuccessful resuscitation attempts are made on Hannah

The force took the unusual step of telling the public Clifford was believed to have a crossbow, and made a direct appeal to him.

Specialist search teams and armed police officers were brought in to track him down.

Nearly 24 hours later, he was found in a cemetery near his family’s Enfield home.

But as officers approached, he shot himself with the crossbow, leaving him paralysed from the chest down.

“If this was an attempt to end his own life, he left it until the last possible opportunity and meant that the officers that approached him were exposed to a huge amount of risk,” said Ch Supt Simpson.

“Despite this, in the moments following his detention, they worked to save his life.”

• A list of organisations in the UK offering support and information with some of the issues in this story is available at BBC Action Line

Clifford spent weeks in hospital under police guard, before he could eventually be interviewed – but his “no comment” answers gave officers little help.

Det Ch Insp Gardner said Clifford had shown a “complete inability and unwillingness… to actually deal with [the break-up] appropriately”.

He added: “Many other routes – become a better person – he knew were available to him, but he failed to do so and chose the course he did.”

Clifford had previously admitted murdering the three women, false imprisonment and possessing offensive weapons, but denied rape.

However, he opted not to attend his trial at Cambridge Crown Court, either in person or via video.

During the hearing, details of Clifford’s viewing of a video by Andrew Tate emerged.

Tate had described women as “intrinsically lazy” and said there was “no such thing as an independent female”.

The prosecution had suggested Clifford had been motivated by the same sort of “violent misogyny promoted by Tate”.

However, the defence argued this material had too vague a link and was far too prejudicial.

The judge agreed it was of limited relevance and of “great possible prejudice”, and that it should not be put before the jury.

The court heard Louise had told friends Clifford had a “nasty temper” and behaved in an “aggressive manner”.

Louise made a note on her phone five days before the murders, setting out how Clifford was “racist”, had “commented he did not like transgender people” and had used “belittling language”.

In the days before the killings, Clifford had searched for how to buy a crossbow and had accessed pornography, prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said.

This included a video of former HMP Wandsworth prison officer Linda De Sousa Abreu, who admitted having sex with a prisoner last year.

She said his violent intentions were shown “through the use of weapons and his sexual preoccupations”.

Clifford had attempted to rekindle his relationship with Louise, but was rebuffed, she said.

“This rejection angered the defendant,” she said.

“He was angry at Louise, but also at the Hunt family generally, as he correctly assumed that friends and family members had advised Louise to end the relationship with him.”

In the absence of the jury, the prosecution argued the fact that Clifford had “a number of sexual relationships” with other women showed contempt and a lack of respect toward Louise.

Jurors were shown footage of Clifford at the garden centre on the day of the murders, during which he received a call, which went to voicemail, from another woman he was in a relationship with.

Clifford had been a trooper in The Queen’s Dragoon Guards, but left the Army after two years in 2022, without seeing active service.

His only previous interaction with police had been in relation to a small drugs matter and a fight he was involved in, and he was not known to the force for domestic violence.

He is not the only murderer in his family, however. His older brother Bradley was jailed in 2018 for killing a moped rider after his “prized” Ford Mustang was damaged.

Neighbours in Enfield told the BBC how the family “kept themselves to themselves”.

Meanwhile, John Hunt and his surviving daughter Amy have said their devastation “cannot be put into words”.

“They’ve shown immense bravery to work with us throughout this period,” said Det Ch Insp Gardner.

“Essentially they’ve lost over half of their family and it’s impossible for anyone to truly fathom how that would impact on those individuals, but they’ve been nothing short of exceptional with me and my team… and I’d like to thank them for that.”

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