Less than 24 hours before Kyle Clifford committed the triple murder that would leave his ex-girlfriend, Louise Hunt, her sister and mother dead, he searched the internet for misogynistic podcasts.
What was not revealed to the jury – who have now found the former soldier guilty of rape, adding to his previous admissions of murder – was that the 26-year-old had listened to the influencer Andrew Tate.
Clifford had watched up to 10 videos of the self-styled misogynist influencer in the lead-up to the assault on Louise in what the prosecution described as a “final act of spite”.
Incandescent with rage that she had ended their 18-month relationship, Clifford began plotting an attack on the Hunt family by researching and buying weapons while watching pornography, including a video of a prison officer having sex with an inmate.
Prosecutors argued “the sort of violent misogyny promoted by Tate is the same type of motivation that … fuelled both the murders and the rape”, the four-day trial heard.
But the judge, Mr Justice Bennathan, ruled that the jury could not hear evidence regarding the killer’s interest in Tate, saying it was “deeply prejudicial” to his rape trial because the influencer was “almost a poster boy for misogynists”.
He told the court: “It may well be that one who takes a close interest in Tate, other than law enforcement officials, could be seen as a misogynist.” But he conceded he could see the “potential relevance” of the material.
On Thursday, Clifford was found guilty of raping Louise before murdering her with a crossbow at her family home in Bushey, Hertfordshire, on 9 July last year. He admitted the murders of Louise, her sister, Hannah, 28, and their mother, Carol, 61, at an earlier hearing, but denied rape. The women were the wife and daughters of the BBC racing commentator John Hunt.
The trial heard that Clifford was a man who sought women’s admiration and did not like to be told “no” by them. He joined the dating website Hinge on the day Louise ended their relationship after confiding in friends that he had a nasty temper and behaved in an aggressive manner.
It can now be revealed that one of the reasons Louise and her friends turned against Clifford was because he played them a Tate video involving animals being harmed which he found “funny”.
“That’s one of the reasons they indicated a distaste for him,” DCI Nick Gardner from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire major crime unit, said at a press briefing.
“There were comments that he would make about violence being OK and quite sort of macho comments of a road rage incident where he’s cut up and he finds it entirely OK to get out his car and berate this individual. He’s telling people these stories, that’s where Louise kind of decides he’s not the man for me, that he’s not the man I thought he was.”
The prosecutor, Alison Morgan KC, had argued that the material Clifford was searching, including pornography, was important because it showed “how he views women and why sexualised violence is an important part of the attack”.
In legal argument in the absence of the jury, she said: “The fact is that on any sensible view, Andrew Tate, back in 2024 and now, was a widely known misogynist, and that is what the defendant is searching for less than 24 hours before he will try to get into the Hunt family home. He was searching for the Andrew Tate podcast.”
In his ruling, the judge said: “The prosecution suggest the sort of violent misogyny promoted by Tate is the same type of motivation that, on their case, fuelled both the murders and the rape. The defence submit this material has too vague a link and it [is] far too prejudicial.”
On Thursday, four British women who are suing Tate called on social media companies to remove the influencer from their platforms.
In a statement published through their lawyers, the women said: “Hearing that Kyle Clifford watched videos of Andrew Tate in the lead up to his murders of his ex-girlfriend, her mother and sister, is deeply upsetting to us, but sadly not surprising.
“This should be a wake-up call for all the social media companies who are continuing to platform Tate and his dangerous messages. These companies should take immediate steps to remove Andrew Tate from their platforms, rather than continue to reap enormous profits from his hateful content.
“Clifford’s case should be a warning to world leaders and all those who belittle the seriousness of allowing incitement of violence against women online to fester. Our thoughts are with Hunt family.”
The day before the murder, Clifford had also spoken to his brother, Bradley Clifford, a convicted murderer who is serving life in prison for deliberately mowing down a teenager on a moped in a road rage attack.
The pair discussed the purchasing of a crossbow, air rifles and a sword, the trial heard. They also spoke about buying a crossbow on 1 July, five days after Louise ended their relationship.
In a note on her phone justifying the break, entitled “When you’re sad, look”, Louise wrote: “His brother is in prison, he still sees him every other week and never said what he did was horrendous.”
Born in Enfield, north London, in April 1998, Clifford is one of four siblings. He was accused of violence and bullying at school but was never expelled. He also came to the attention of the Met police as a teenager in 2012-13. The offences related to the possession of cannabis, assault without injury and a theft. “He was a juvenile at the time and no matters resulted in charges or convictions against him,” police said.
Clifford went on to join the army in 2019, serving in the Queen’s Dragoon Guards, but left without completing active service after “internal issues”, police said.
He was unemployed at the time of the attack, owing to a dispute at the catering company where he had worked. In legal argument in court, it was claimed that Clifford had previously faced allegations of “inappropriate conduct”.
Clifford was having relationships with two women at work behind Louise’s back. He texted one woman, named Sammy, saying “sorry” shortly before stabbing Carol Hunt with a 10in butcher’s knife.
“He’s an entirely unremarkable individual,” Gardner said. “He’s unable to deal with his breakup, lost a number of jobs, doesn’t come across as a highly intelligent or motivated individual in any way.
“It was almost [as though] he felt he couldn’t deal with the idea of the personal affront to him, which seems strange when he was happy to carry out relationships behind Louise’s back. It’s difficult to kind of comprehend [how] he just went to the most extreme levels of violence.”
• Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
