Crossbow killer ‘tricked his way into victims’ home by telling his ex's mother ‘he was dropping off some of her stuff'
5 March 2025, 14:18
Triple killer Kyle Clifford “ticked his way” into the home of his victims by telling his ex’s mother he “was just dropping off some of her stuff”, a court has heard.
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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.
Chilling new CCTV footage shows Clifford’s movements the moments before he shot his former partner and her sister with a crossbow and stabbed their mother with a butcher's knife.
CCTV of KC parking in Vernon Court Road and leaving
The triple killer is seen parking his car in streets near the family home of his ex-partner, Louise Hunt, before walking to the address in Bushey, Hertfordshire, and knocking on the door.
Footage from a camera at the front of the home, in Ashlyn Close, shows the 26-year-old on the doorstep on July 9 last year, and audio recorded his conversation with his former partner's mother.
He is dressed all in black, wearing a rucksack and holding a white plastic bag.
As Carol Hunt, wife of BBC racing commentator John Hunt, opens the door, Clifford tells her he is "just dropping off some of Louise's stuff".
She then asked Clifford how he is and he responds: "I'm good, thank you. What's wrong? You look like..."
Mrs Hunt replies: "I've seen a ghost."
Prosecutors told Cambridge Crown Court that Clifford deceived Mrs Hunt to gain access to the address and then took a knife from his backpack to kill her.
Further footage shows the killer leaving the house to collect the crossbow from his car, carrying the weapon hidden under a sheet before letting himself back into the house.
Crossbow killer Kyle Clifford buys rope before killing mum and two daughters
As Clifford deceived Ms Hunt, Louise worked in her dog grooming pod in the back garden, completely unaware of what was happening in the house.
He murdered Louise, her mother and her sister in a "violent, sexual act of spite", the court was told on Tuesday.
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".
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.
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.
