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The man captured by police after a mother and two daughters were killed in a crossbow attack was a former soldier with a brother serving life in prison for murder, it has emerged.
Kyle Clifford, 26, served briefly in the armed forces having, it is understood, been a member of the Queen’s Dragoon Guards before dropping out in 2022.
Police launched a manhunt for Clifford, who had worked as a security guard, after the wife and two daughters of BBC racing commentator John Hunt were killed in their home in Bushey, Hertfordshire, on Tuesday.
Mr Hunt’s wife Carol, 61, beautician Hannah, 28, and dog groomer Louise, 25, died in the “targeted” attack which involved a crossbow.
Clifford was reported to have been in a relationship with Louise and police have confirmed he was known to the victims.
He was being treated in hospital after armed police tracked him to a cemetery in Enfield, north London, where he was found injured on Wednesday afternoon.
Born in Enfield in 1998, Clifford is understood to be the third of four children.
His eldest brother Bradley Clifford was jailed for life 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.
Police raided Bradley’s former address in Rendlesham Road, Enfield, in the hunt for Kyle on Wednesday.
A former army boss described Kyle, five years Bradley’s junior, 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 reconnaisance since its formation in 1685.
A picture of Kyle from his military career shows him dressed in army fatigues carrying a weapon, with camouflage paint on his face.
An army source 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 would indicate that he is no longer in the military,” the source said.
After the army he briefly worked at a fire and security installation company, but left in July last year.
The firm Amthal, based in St Albans, Hertfordshire, 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.”
