Crossbow killer Kyle Clifford's injuries after paralysing himself following vile crimes

As crossbow killer Kyle Clifford refuses to attend court for his sentencing in a final insult to the Hunt family, we look at his injuries in full as he now uses a wheelchair

Kyle Clifford may never walk again after cowardly shooting himself with a crossbow in a bid to avoid facing the horrors he committed.

The ex-soldier, 26, was in hiding after brutally raping and murdering his ex-girlfriend, Louise Hunt, killing her mother Carol, 61, and stabbing sister Hannah, 28, to death on July 9 last year. After butchering the family, Clifford was found the following day, cowering from the cops in a cemetery near his home in Enfield, North London.

After an extensive manhunt, police found him unconscious and unable to speak after he had fired a crossbow bolt into his upper body. The bolt is said to have pierced his spinal cord.

Clifford - who admitted triple murder - underwent emergency surgery but was left paralysed from the chest down. In another cowardly move, he exercised his right to not attend his trial last week, where he was found guilty of raping Louise.

Prosecutors are now expected to demand that Clifford be handed a whole-life term when he is sentenced later today. But in a final insult to the Hunt family, Clifford has refused to leave his cell to learn his fate.

The former security worker was cowering in the medical wing of maximum-security HMP Belmarsh this morning as he refused to attend for court to be sentenced for the triple murder. Last week, his trial for rape was held at Cambridge Crown Court to accommodate the killer's wheelchair.

Outraged after brave Louise ended their relationship - Clifford, who was cheating on her with multiple women - spent 13 days plotting a heinous murder spree last summer. Armed with a knife and crossbow, the calculated killer tricked Carol into letting him enter the Hunt family home in Bushey, Hertfordshire, on July 9. Moments later, she was dead.

Louise then entered the home after working in her business pod in the garden, with no idea what horrors awaited her. Audio taken at the Hunt family home picked up a "faint scream" from Louise, which "indicated that she had been quickly in fear of what she saw or quickly restrained", by Clifford. He kept Louise captive for three hours alongside her mother's body, raping her before killing her and finally murdering her sister Hannah, who desperately tried to escape and was able to call 999.

Clifford is now paralysed and uses a wheelchair, while police previously revealed Clifford had a "voice injury", limiting how loudly he could speak. The killer previously awaited trial at HMP Norwich, a Category B/C prison which housed gangster Reggie Kray and Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs. According to the Prison Reform Trust, disabled prisoners live with the general prison population, and the facility must make 'reasonable adjustments' to ensure this.

"Given his recent paralysis, the prison system is legally obligated to provide necessary medical care and accommodations, ensuring that his disability does not infringe upon his basic rights," legal expert James Pipe, from freegrantsforfelons.org, told the Mirror. "However, life inside will be far from easy. Violent offenders, particularly those who have committed high-profile crimes, often face hostility from other inmates."

"Ultimately, Clifford's prison sentence will be a grim existence," James said. "While he will receive the care required by law, he will spend the rest of his life in a highly restrictive environment, dealing with the physical and emotional consequences of his actions. His guilty plea may have avoided a lengthy trial, but it does not change the reality of what lies ahead: a lifetime behind bars with no hope of freedom."