'Coward' crossbow killer Kyle Clifford refuses to face justice as he hides in cell during sentencing
by Asher McShane · LBCBy Asher McShane
Crossbow killer Kyle Clifford has refused to come to court to be sentenced for murdering his ex-partner, her sister, and their mother.
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Clifford was found guilty last week of raping Louise Hunt during a knife and crossbow attack that killed Louise, her mother Carol and sister Hannah.
The judge didn't permit an order to bring him to court because he is in a wheelchair, paralysed from the chest down.
Ahead of sentencing, Judge Mr Justice Joel Bennathan said: “If he doesn’t have the courage to show up, so be it”.
Mr Justice Bennathan told the court on Tuesday, at the start of Clifford's sentencing hearing, that the defendant was asked to attend the sentencing hearing in person or by video-link but "refused".
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Declining to order him to appear, the judge said: "I have declined on the basis that the idea of a man in a wheelchair being put in restraints and potentially disrupting these proceedings... is simply not appropriate or suitable," the judge told Cambridge Crown Court.
Clifford did not appear at the rape trial at any stage – either in person or via a link from prison.
Clifford is facing life behind bars.
The 26-year-old previously pleaded guilty to murdering the women and was later convicted of raping Louise in a "violent, sexual act of spite".
Prosecutors previously said Clifford became "enraged" when 25-year-old Louise ended their 18-month relationship - leading him to "carefully" plan the July 9 murders.
Clifford gained access to the family home by deceiving 61-year-old Carol Hunt, the wife of BBC racing commentator John Hunt, before stabbing her to death in a "brutal knife attack".
After killing Mrs Hunt, the defendant then "lay in wait" for an hour for Louise to enter the house, before restraining, raping and ultimately murdering her with a crossbow.
He then fatally shot 28-year-old Hannah Hunt when she returned to the property in the quiet cul-de-sac of Ashlyn Close in Bushey, Hertfordshire, after work.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC previously told the court the murders were fuelled by the "violent misogyny promoted" by Andrew Tate after it emerged Clifford searched for the controversial social media influencer's less than 24 hours before the attacks.
Clifford, of Enfield, north London, will be sentenced for three counts of murder, one of rape, one of false imprisonment and two counts of possession of an offensive weapon at Cambridge Crown Court on Tuesday.