Triple murder suspect Kyle Clifford found by police after crossbow attack
Murders Who In Three In 26, With Wanted Connection Of Is Kyle The Clifford, Bushey Women
Triple murder suspect Kyle Clifford has been found following the crossbow deaths of the wife and two daughters of a BBC racing commentator.
Clifford, 26, was found in the Enfield area of north London on Wednesday afternoon, Hertfordshire Police said.
He is receiving medical treatment having been found with injuries.
No shots were fired by police, the force said.
Clifford, was wanted in connection with the deaths of Carol Hunt, wife of BBC racing commentator John Hunt, and their two daughters Hannah and Louise in Bushey, Hertfordshire.
The force said they believe he was known to the victims.
Detective Inspector Justine Jenkins from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit said: “This continues to be an incredibly difficult time for the victims’ family and we would ask that their privacy is respected as they come to terms with what has happened.
“This investigation is moving at pace and formal identification of the victims is yet to take place.
“Following extensive inquiries, the suspect has been located and nobody else is being sought in connection with the investigation at this time.” In a press conference before Clifford was located, Chief Superintendent Jon Simpson from Hertfordshire Police told reporters the murders are believed to be “targeted”.
During the manhunt for the suspect, the force said they believed he may have been armed with a crossbow and warned the public not to approach him.
As part of a note sent to BBC 5 Live staff on Wednesday, the broadcaster said it would provide Mr Hunt with “all the support we can”.
The note read: “The news today about John Hunt’s family is utterly devastating.
“Our thoughts are with John and his family at this incredibly difficult time and we will provide him with all the support we can.”
Police said they were looking at whether the force had contact with the victims or Clifford before the killings.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said she is being kept fully updated about the inquiry into the “truly shocking” deaths.
A Home Office spokeswoman said: “We keep legislation under constant review and a call for evidence was launched earlier this year to look at whether further controls on crossbows should be introduced.
“The Home Secretary will swiftly consider the findings to see if laws need to be tightened further.” Messages of condolence were posted on social media by figures from the racing world.
BBC racing correspondent Cornelius Lysaght said: “There are no words.
“Like everyone else, I feel numb and sick on John’s behalf at such incomprehensible evil.
“Everyone who knows John knows he is the absolute archetypal family man, so proud of them, so it’s impossible to know what he can be going through.
“But I know I’m speaking for the whole racing community and the whole wider sports media community as well, both of which he’s been part of for so long when I say everyone is sending sympathy, love and support to him. It’s just awful.”
Messages of condolence were posted on social media by figures from the racing world.
ITV racing commentator Matt Chapman wrote in an entry on X, formerly Twitter: “No words needed for what has happened to @HuntyCaller and family today.
“Impossible to comprehend the pain. Just know we are all here for you John. We love you pal – racing loves you.”
The Amateur Jockeys Association of Great Britain and Beverley Racecourse were among others sending their sympathies.
One neighbour described hearing screams from the suburban home where the three women died on Tuesday.
The 46-year-old who works in the media and lives near the scene but asked not to be named, said “absolute chaos” then broke out as armed police put the road into lockdown.
She told the PA news agency: “It was between 6.30pm and 7pm last night and it literally just sounded like kids, somebody screaming, and then it was more shrill and I was like ‘that’s definitely a woman screaming’, and within 15 minutes, it was absolute chaos.
“We had armed police running down, screaming ‘stay in your house’… they shut us off and basically put us into lockdown.”
Officers and emergency medical crews including two air ambulances were sent to try to save the women, who were related, but they all died at the scene.
The previous government had considered tightening the laws around crossbows after would-be assassin Jaswant Singh Chail was encouraged by an AI chatbot to break into Windsor Castle on Christmas Day 2021 with a loaded crossbow to kill the late Queen of Britain.
Currently, there is no requirement to have a licence for a crossbow, but it is illegal to carry one in public without a reasonable excuse.