On July 9, 2024, Carol Hunt (61) and her daughters Hannah (28) and Louise (25) were murdered at their home in Bushey, England.
Louise’s ex- boyfriend Kyle Clifford (26) has been arrested on suspicion of three counts of murder. As of the time of recording, Kyle is still in hospital with self-inflicted wounds and police have not questioned him.
As some background into the Hunt family, Carol’s husband and the father of the girls is John Hunt, a BBC television personality. The couple have another daughter, Amy, who was not present during the attack.
Kyle and Louise seemed to have started dating earlier in 2024. There is no confirmed timeline of their relationship but some friends have spoken to the media.
A friend who did not want to be named said ‘I’m not sure how they met but they’d been together since at least April because he went to a family party with Louise.
‘She had introduced him to her parents, they are lovely, lovely people and they would have wanted to take him into their family.
The same friend also spoke to the media about how Kyle was controlling.
‘Kyle was controlling and used to ridicule Louise.
‘In public he made himself out to be a nice guy, but in private he was anything but.
‘There hadn’t been any previous incidents of violence towards Louise – nothing that we knew about anyway – but he imposed himself on her.
‘It was certain things, like Louise used to like wearing make-up but then she stopped wearing make-up – and that was down to Kyle.”
Hannah’s best friend Abdul Morsli also spoke to the media about the relationship between Louise and Kyle. ‘She was in love with him.
‘Hannah was convinced that they’d get married one day…but there were issues with his controlling behaviour.
‘I think Louise tried to keep it under wraps but I know he didn’t like her staying out too late – even though they didn’t live together – and he really didn’t like her having male friends.’
In the weeks before the murders, Louise broke up with Kyle. She made some posts on social media earlier in July that indicated they may have broken up.
One of her tweets said “I admire women who leave, idgaf if you left after the 1st time or the 12th time I admire [bleep]!
“Idgaf if ppl calling you dumb for 11 years but in the 12th year you decided you was done. It takes A LOT of strength to break a tie. It takes ALOT of self love to choose yo self.”
The friend we mentioned earlier spoke about the Hunt family felt about the breakup ‘There were red flags. And when Louise split with Kyle I think they were very relieved.”
On Tuesday, July 9, 2024, screams were heard coming from the Hunt home at around 6.30pm.
A neighbour heard ‘piercing screams’ but thought they may have been coming from a distressed child.
Around that time, Hannah managed to text a friend telling them that she, her mother and sister had been tied up in the home. She asked the person to call the police and she said that Kyle was still in their house.
At 6.50pm, Kyle can be seen on CCTV leaving the house. He looked to have the crossbow under his arm, covered by a blanket.
Hannah was then able to call police herself. She told them that she had been shot with a crossbow. She said that her mother and sister had also been shot. She gave out her address before the call cut off.
When police arrived at the home at around 7pm, they found Hannah still alive in the doorway. She had the crossbow bolt in her chest.
Carol was also found in a hallway with a bolt in her chest.
All three women would be declared dead at the scene.
Police have said that they believed the women were held captive for hours before they were killed.
By 8am on Wednesday July 10, police had worked out who the likely suspect was. They went to Kyle’s home and raided it. There was no sign of Kyle there.
“Extensive” police resources, including helicopters and armed officers, were deployed to find the suspect.
The manhunt went on for hours. Police issued a statement at 3.30pm on Wednesday. Enfield MPS issued a statement saying they were assisting Hertfordshire Police.
“We are assisting colleagues from Herts in their search for Kyle Clifford,” they said.
A Hertfordshire Constabulary spokesperson said: “Whilst we are asking the public to remain vigilant, people should go about their business as normal at this time. At this stage, there is no explicit wider threat to members of the public and no children have been involved.”
Kyle was found at around 6.30pm on Wednesday at the Lavender Hill Cemetery in Enfield. He was taken to a “major trauma centre” after allegedly attempting to use his crossbow on himself.
On Thursday, July 11, the police issued a statement in which they confirmed that Kyle was in a “serious condition” in hospital.
They also confirmed that a crossbow had been recovered,
“This was an unprecedented attack and we are determined to understand the full circumstances of what happened that evening and the events leading up to it,” Det Supt Rob Hall of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit said.
Hannah’s partner Alex Klein made some social media posts after her death.
Sharing several pictures of them together, Alex said: “RIP the love of my life, I will never forget you, stolen from me too soon. The brightest light in my life. My brave queen for life. Until we meet again… I love you Hansy.”
He also shared other images of the pair including photos of them kissing in a swimming pool, adding: “Forever with me.”
On Saturday July 13, John Hunt issued a statement.
He said: “The devastation that we are experiencing cannot be put into words.”
The statement continued: “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.”
They added they would need space to come to terms with what had happened and “start the grieving process”.
He said: ‘Notwithstanding the horrid evil that’s swept through our lives, wreaking devastation on an unimaginable scale, the counter to that has been the breathtaking messages of support, some of which are still to be read.
‘Amy, my eldest daughter, has been magnificently inspirational with her control and support for me, which I am trying, trying so hard, to replicate.
‘Every message has felt so important, the same as a reassuring hug. We know people are worried about us. We will get through this.’
“While this is happening, we would ask that our privacy and that of our wider family and relations be respected at this time. Thank you.”
A postmortem found that Carol died from stab wounds to her chest and abdomen.
The two daughters each died from a cross bolt injury to the chest.
It has been reported in the media that Kyle is paralysed and unlikely to ever walk again. He fired a bolt into his own body and he was found unconscious when he was discovered in the cemetery.
The police force told The Sun: ‘The Major Crime Unit continues to investigate the incident.
‘We would not comment on details of an individual’s medical condition.’
SOURCE LIST
https://www.entertainmentdailyuk.com/news/john-hunt-family-murder-timeline-updated-statment