Crossbow suspect Kyle Clifford denies murdering BBC man’s wife and daughters
Triple crossbow killing suspect Kyle Clifford has pleaded not guilty to murdering the wife and two daughters of BBC star John Hunt.
The 26-year-old is accused of stabbing 61-year-old Carol Hunt, the wife of John Hunt, to death and shooting Louise, 25, and Hannah Hunt, 28, with a crossbow at their family home in Bushey, Hertfordshire on July 9.
He has also been further charged with raping Louise on the day of the attack, Cambridge Crown Court heard today.
Clifford, of Enfield, north London, is further accused of one charge of false imprisonment and two counts of possession of offensive weapons – namely a crossbow and a 10-inch butcher’s knife.
Clifford, who appeared via video link from HMP Belmarsh, entered his not guilty pleas to all charges except the new count of rape, for which he is not yet required to enter a plea.
During a previous hearing, it was said Louise and Hannah had been shot with a crossbow and Carol had been stabbed several times. All three had been bound and gagged.
Hannah managed to call 999 at one stage, telling an operator an intruder had wounded her, stabbed her mum and tied up her sister before shooting her too.
David Burns, prosecuting at a previous hearing said: ‘She stated the intruder was in the property. He had shot her, her mother and her sister and she feared she was going to die. The phone call then cut off.
‘She managed to re-establish connection and called an ambulance. The phone call cut off again. Police found Hannah Hunt lying in the doorway. She had been shot with a crossbow in the chest.
‘They found Louise tied up and she had also been shot with a crossbow. They found their mother Carol who had been stabbed with a knife and suffered multiple injuries.
‘All three were treated at the scene but all three passed away.’
Clifford was arrested the next day at a cemetery close to his home in Enfield, London.
Commentator John, who works for BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky TV, returned to work for the BBC in Brighton on September 9.
In a moving statement, he described the attacks as a ‘horrid evil that’s swept through our lives, wreaking devastation on an unimaginable scale’.
But he also praised surviving daughter Amy’s response as ‘magnificently inspirational’.
The two of them said: ‘The devastation that we are experiencing cannot be put into words.
‘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.
‘As you can imagine, this is an extremely difficult time for us, and we need time and space to come to terms with what has happened and start the grieving process.’
A GoFundMe page set up to support them raised more than £120,000.
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