A man who fatally shot his ex-girlfriend and her sister with a crossbow before stabbing their mother to death has pleaded guilty to their murders – but denied raping his former partner.
Kyle Clifford, 26, tied his ex-girlfriend Louise Hunt’s arms and ankles with duct tape and shot the 25-year-old dog groomer through the chest with a crossbow bolt at the family home in the quiet cul-de-sac of Ashlyn Close in Bushey, Hertfordshire, in July.
Beautician Hannah Hunt, 28, was found in the main doorway of the house with a crossbow bolt to the chest and was still alive when police arrived at the property at around 7.10pm on 9 July.
Police had been called by Hannah Hunt, who told officers she feared she was going to die as she had been shot and her sister and mother had also been attacked.
Clifford – who served in the military from 2019 for around three years and had worked as a security guard – became the subject of a manhunt for several hours before he was found injured in Lavender Hill Cemetery in Enfield, north London, after shooting himself in the chest with the crossbow.
Appearing via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Wednesday, Clifford pleaded guilty to three counts of murder, one of false imprisonment against Louise Hunt, and two counts of possession of offensive weapons – the crossbow and the knife.
He pleaded not guilty to a charge of raping Louise Hunt.
Following the attacks, the Home Office said home secretary Yvette Cooper was urgently considering whether tougher crossbow laws were needed, although in the King’s Speech, which took place just days after the killings, there was no proposal to take action on crossbows.
A spokesperson for the Home Office told The Independent on Thursday: “While it is already illegal to carry a crossbow in public without reasonable excuse, we have been reviewing whether controls need to be strengthened further. We will publish our response to the call for evidence on strengthening the controls around crossbows shortly.”
The previous government looked at bringing in firearms licensing-style rules in the wake of an attempt to kill Queen Elizabeth II with a crossbow on Christmas Day 2021.
There is currently no registration system for owning a crossbow, no requirement for a licence and they appear to be readily available to buy online. However, it is illegal for anyone under 18 to buy or own one, with anyone carrying a crossbow in public without a reasonable excuse facing up to four years behind bars.
Mr Hunt and his third daughter Amy issued a statement following the murders, which said: “The devastation we are experiencing cannot be put into words.”
The pair are not believed to have attended the hearing on Wednesday nor any previous court hearings over the incident.
Clifford, of Rendlesham Road, Enfield, north London, is set to face a week-long trial for the charge of rape at the same court on 3 March.
He is set to be sentenced for the other counts at a later date.
Born in Enfield in 1998, Clifford is understood to be the third of four children.
His eldest brother Bradley Clifford was jailed for life for murder in 2018 after mowing down a moped and beating a teenager to death in a rage after his “prized” red Ford Mustang was damaged.
He was handed a minimum term of 23 years in prison following a trial at London’s Old Bailey, which heard he relentlessly pursued the moped carrying Soban Khan, 18, and his friend Jahshua Francis.
Mr Francis weaved into oncoming traffic and tried to mount the pavement in a bid to escape, but he and Mr Khan, riding pillion, were thrown into the air when Bradley Clifford crashed into them in the early hours of 5 August 2017. As Mr Khan lay dying in the road, he then leapt out of his car and beat him to death.
The brutal attack followed a confrontation between two groups of young people outside a bar shortly after 3am that morning, the court heard.
A former army boss described Kyle Clifford, who was five years younger than his brother, as “immature” when he served as a trooper – the equivalent of a private with the Dragoon Guards. The British Army website states that the regiment has specialised in reconnaissance since its formation in 1685.
A picture of the former soldier from his military career shows him dressed in army fatigues carrying a weapon, with camouflage paint on his face.
An army source previously told The Sun: “Clifford joined the Army in 2019 and I was with him in basic training. When he joined the Army he was immature for his age and had a bit of a chip on his shoulder.
“He struggled to grasp basic military concepts but managed to reach the standard to pass out from training.
“I hear he was [later] working in private security so [that] would indicate that he is no longer in the military.”
After the Army, he briefly worked at a fire and security installation company but left in July 2023.
The firm Amthal, based in St Albans, Hertfordshire, previously said in a statement: “Kyle Clifford was employed from February 22, 2023 to July 20, 2023. Since he departed from Amthal in July 2023, we have had no further communication with Mr Clifford.”
