Crossbow killer stabbed Carol Hunt in her own home as daughter worked in garden, completely unaware, court hears

4 March 2025, 14:41

Crossbow killer Kyle Clifford stabbed Carol Hunt to death in her own home while his former partner Louise Hunt worked in a dog grooming pod in the back garden, completely unaware of what was happening in the house.

Clifford, 26, was detained by police after Louise and Hannah Hunt were shot with a crossbow and their mother, Carol Hunt, was stabbed to death at the family home in Bushey, Hertfordshire in July 2024.

The defendant, from Enfield, North London, is also accused of raping Louise Hunt - a charge he continues to deny.

Alison Morgan KC, prosecuting, told the court Carol Hunt's injuries were "significant and showed she struggled in that period to get away from the defendant".

Read more: Crossbow triple killer ‘raped ex in act of spite’ before murdering family of racing commentator, court hears

The barrister said that "dogs were dropped off in the period afterwards without anybody knowing what was going on in the property".

Ms Morgan said a customer came to collect a dog from Louise Hunt, who ran her business from a pod in the garden, from a side gate and another came to drop a dog off for grooming.

The prosecutor told Cambridge Crown Court they were "completely oblivious to what was going on inside the address".

Cambridge Crown Court heard the defendant gained access to the family home by deceiving 61-year-old Carol Hunt, the wife of BBC racing commentator John Hunt, before stabbing her to death in a "brutal knife attack".

Clifford is alleged to have become "angry" when 25-year-old former partner Louise Hunt ended their relationship before he "carefully planned and executed" the murders on July 9 last year.

He murdered Louise, her mother and her sister in a "violent, sexual act of spite", the court was told on Tuesday.

Opening the prosecution's case, Alison Morgan KC told the jury: "It is not in dispute therefore that he murdered three members of the Hunt family - Carol, Louise and Hannah.

"It is also not in dispute that he was unlawfully in possession of a knife and a crossbow that day.

"He also accepts that he falsely imprisoned Louise Hunt during the course of the incident, restraining her against her will."

Ms Morgan continued: "During the course of this prolonged incident of violence, the prosecution alleges that the defendant raped Louise Hunt."It was a violent, sexual act of spite, before he then killed her.

"You will have to determine that allegation against him."

Following the attacks, Clifford, who served in the military from 2019 for around three years, became the subject of a manhunt for a number of hours before he was found injured in Lavender Hill Cemetery in Enfield, north London, after shooting himself in the chest with the crossbow.

Addressing the defendant's motive to kill his victims, Ms Morgan said: "Louise instigated the end of the relationship, supported by her friends and family.

"In the days that followed, the message prompted the defendant to try to rekindle the relationship in various ways, all of which were rebuffed by Louise Hunt.

"This rejection angered the defendant."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."

The prosecutor continued: "The attack was carefully planned and executed, involving the deceit of Louise's mother Carol Hunt, in order to gain access to the family home, followed by a brutal knife attack upon Carol Hunt.

"The defendant then waited for Louise to enter the property, before restraining, raping and ultimately murdering her with a crossbow.

"He then killed Louise's sister Hannah Hunt with the crossbow, when she returned to the property after work."

Clifford, of Enfield, north London, denies a single charge of rape.

The trial continues.