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A man who shot his ex-girlfriend and her sister with a bow before stabbing their mother to death has admitted murdering them – but denied raping his ex-partner.
Kyle Clifford, 26, taped his ex-girlfriend Louise Hunt’s arms and ankles and shot the 25-year-old dog groomer in the chest with a bow and arrow at the family home in the quiet retreat of Ashlyn Close. At Bushey, Hertfordshire, in July.
Hairdresser Hannah Hunt, 28, was found at the front door of the home with a crossbow bolt to her chest and was still alive when police arrived at the property at around 7.10pm on July 9.
Hannah Hunt had called the police and told them she was afraid she was going to die because she had been shot and her mother and sister had been attacked.
Clifford – who served in the army for around three years as of 2019 and worked as a security guard – was chased for several hours before he was wounded after shooting himself at Lavender Hill Cemetery in Enfield, north London. Chest with crossbow
Appearing via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Wednesday, Clifford pleaded guilty to three counts of murder, one count of false imprisonment against Louise Hunt and two counts of possessing offensive weapons – a crossbow and a knife.
He pleaded not guilty to the charge of raping Louise Hunt.
After the attacks, the Home Office said Home Secretary Yvette Cooper was urgently looking into whether tougher shooting laws were needed, although in the King’s Speech, delivered just days after the murders, There was no suggestion of action on crossbows. The review is said to be ongoing and no decision has yet been made, but the findings could be released soon.
The previous government sought to introduce firearms license-style laws in the wake of an attempt to kill Queen Elizabeth II with a crossbow on Christmas Day 2021.
Currently there is no registration system for owning a crossbow, no license is required and they seem to be readily available for purchase online. However, it is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to purchase or possess a crossbow, as anyone found carrying a crossbow in public without reasonable excuse faces up to four years behind bars.
Mr Hunt and his third daughter Amy issued a statement after the murder, saying: “Words cannot describe the devastation we are experiencing.”
The couple is not believed to have attended Wednesday’s hearing or previous court hearings regarding the incident.
Clifford, of Randlesham Road, Enfield, north London, is due to face a week-long trial on charges of sexual assault at the same court on March 3.
Born in Enfield in 1998, Clifford is the third of four children.
His older brother, Bradley Clifford, was sentenced to life in prison in 2018 for murder after he ran over a teenager in a rage and fatally shot a teenager after his “precious” red Ford Mustang was damaged. .
He was jailed for a minimum of 23 years after a trial at London’s Old Bailey heard he relentlessly chased Subban Khan, 18, and his friend Joshua Francis on a motorbike.
Mr Francis swerved into oncoming traffic and tried to get onto the pavement to escape, but he and Mr Khan, who was riding in the passenger seat, were thrown into the air when Bradley Clifford hit them in the early hours of August 5, 2017. As Mr. Khan lay dying on the road, he then jumped out of his car and beat him to death.
The brutal attack followed a fight between two groups of youths outside a bar shortly after 3am that morning, the court heard.
A former army chief described Kyle Clifford, five years his brother’s junior, as “immature” when he served as a private – the equivalent of a soldier in the Dragoon Guards. The regiment has specialized in reconnaissance since it was formed in 1685, according to the British Army website.
A photo of the ex-soldier from his military days shows him in military uniform, carrying a weapon, with camouflage paint on his face.
An army source had previously said the sun: “Clifford joined the army in 2019 and I was with him in the initial 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 understand basic military concepts, but managed to reach a standard that neglected training.
“I heard he was [later] Work in private security therefore [that] It shows that he is no longer in the army.
After the military, he briefly worked for a fire and security installation company but left in July 2023.
Amthal, based in St Albans, Hertfordshire, previously said in a statement: “Kyle Clifford was employed from 22 February 2023 to 20 July 2023. Since he left Amthal in July 2023, we have had no further contact with Mr Dr . Clifford.”
