The chilling aftermath of crossbow murders as Kyle Clifford pleads guilty to killing three women

Police arriving at BBC racing commentator John Hunt's home on July 9 last year were horrified by the scene that awaited them. John's wife Carol, 61, had been stabbed numerous times at the property in Bushey, Herts, while his daughters Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25, had crossbow bolts in their chest. Security guard Kyle Clifford, who today pleaded guilty to triple murder, had already fled the scene.

During the hearing at Cambridge Crown Court today, Clifford, from Enfield, north London, pleaded guilty to killing the three women, falsely imprisoning Louise and possessing a 10-inch butcher's knife and a crossbow. Hannah had made a desperate last fight to escape the killer, messaging a friend saying she had been tied up and begging them to call the police, reports MirrorOnline.

Neighbours had heard distressing screams, at first mistaking them for children messing about. "It was between 6.30pm and 7pm last night and it literally just sounded like kids," one resident said to our sister newspaper at the time. "Somebody screaming, and then it was more shrill and I was like, 'That's definitely a woman screaming'," the neighbour said. As the emergency services rushed to intervene, the quiet street quickly became a frenzy of activity.

READ MORE: Crossbow killer Kyle Clifford pleads guilty to murdering BBC commentator's wife and two daughters

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Harrowing scene

Neighbours then saw multiple ambulances, helicopters and "at least 16 police cars" soon rushing to the scene. "We had armed police running down, screaming 'stay in your house'… they shut us off and basically put us into lockdown," said one 46-year-old local.

Officers arrived at the property just after 7pm to find Hannah alive in the main doorway with a crossbow bolt still in her chest. Louise had also been tied up and shot with a crossbow, while Carol had been stabbed with a knife. None of the women survived their injuries and a manhunt was launched to find their killer.

Appeal to killer

The next morning the police confirmed the killer was still at large. At a Hertfordshire Police press conference, Chief Superintendent Jon Simpson told reporters : "Our overarching objective today is to protect public safety and to locate Kyle Clifford, who is wanted in connection with the murder of the three women in what we believe is a targeted incident.

"We have extensive police resources deployed to various locations in north London and also the Bushey area. The manhunt also involves armed police officers and specialist search teams responding at pace in the wake of what has been a horrific incident involving what is currently believed to be a crossbow, but other weapons may also have been used."

The Chief Sup directly appealed to the women's killer, saying: "Kyle if you are seeing or hearing this please make contact" as he appealed to the public for information, warning them not to approach him but ring 999 if he was sighted.

CCTV trial

Ex-Army private Clifford was picked up on a door cam close to the murder scene, wearing a black tracksuit and carrying what appeared to be a crossbow covered in a white sheet under his arm as he left. The bearded figure carried a black sports bag too, which police suspected may have contained a cache of weapons.

Clifford chillingly strode past a female neighbour who was stroking a cat on her drive at 6.50pm, getting into his car and placing the suspected weapons in the backseat. As the hunt for him continued, schools in North London were put on lockdown.

Headteacher Jade-Simone Bacon, of St Michael's C.E. Primary School, in Enfield, said police had visited the premises to reassure staff and students. "We have just kept them within the building as though it were like a wet playday so we don't cause the children any distress and we keep everything as calm as possible," she told Sky News.

Cemetery arrest

After Clifford's abandoned car was found in north London, dozens of armed officers flooded the area. "They had cordoned off the road and were ushering people away from the house they were going into," a woman told Mail Online. "They had the full protective gear on, guns, shields and helmets – the kind you'd expect to see in riots."

Officers moved to the Lavender Hill cemetery nearby, a five minute walk from Clifford's address, where he was found hiding among headstones. A swarm of armed police closed in at the site, with paramedics seen rushing into the grounds and an air ambulance circling overhead. Clifford was stretchered away from the scene after 20 minutes and taken by ambulance to Royal London Hospital, where he was treated for "serious injuries".

One local claimed he had been hiding in a nearby church all day, saying: "He was well known here, and was actually expelled from school for carrying a knife." Detective Inspector Justine Jenkins from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit said: "Following extensive enquiries, the suspect has been located and nobody else is being sought in connection with the investigation at this time."

Commentator's heartbreak

BBC racing commentator John Hunt and his daughter Amy, who was not at home at the time of the murders, said: "The devastation that we are experiencing cannot be put into words." In a further statement read to Sky Sports Racing viewers by his colleague Matt Chapman, he bravely said he would "get through this" with his surviving daughter.

"Notwithstanding the horrid evil that's swept through our lives, wreaking devastation on an unimaginable scale, the counter to that has been the breathtaking messages of support, some of which are still to be read," said John. "Amy, my eldest daughter, has been magnificently inspirational with her control and support for me, which I am trying, trying so hard, to replicate.

"Every message has felt so important, the same as a reassuring hug. We know people are worried about us. We will get through this."