Crossbow killer admits murdering mum and daughters
· BBC NewsNick Johnson
BBC News, Hertfordshire
Reporting from
Cambridge Crown Court
Danny Fullbrook
BBC News, Hertfordshire
A man has admitted murdering his ex-girlfriend and her sister with a crossbow and their mother with a knife in an attack at the family home.
Carol Hunt, 61, was stabbed to death and Hannah Hunt, 28, and Louise Hunt, 25, suffered fatal crossbow bolt injuries in Bushey, near Watford, on 9 July.
Kyle Clifford, 26, from Enfield, north London, changed his previous not guilty pleas to their murders during an appearance via video link at Cambridge Crown Court.
The three women were the wife and daughters of BBC racing commentator John Hunt, and Louise was a former partner of Clifford.
Clifford, of Rendlesham Road, changed his pleas having denied murdering the three women during a hearing at the same court in December.
He has also now pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and possession of an offensive weapon.
He pleaded not guilty to a charge of raping Louise Hunt.
On the day of the murders, Hertfordshire Police had been called by Hannah, who told officers she feared she was going to die as she had been shot and her sister and mother had also been attacked.
She was found in the main doorway of the house on Ashlyn Close and was still alive when officers arrived at about 19:10 BST.
Louise's arms and ankles had been tied with duct tape and she had been shot by a crossbow.
Their mother had stab wounds to her knee, hands, back and torso.
The attack in the quiet cul-de-sac sparked a manhunt which ended with Clifford being found severely injured in Lavender Hill Cemetery in Enfield.
The killer, who served in the military from 2019 for about three years, had shot himself in the chest with the crossbow.
Mr Hunt and his other daughter Amy issued a statement after the attack, saying: "The devastation we are experiencing cannot be put into words."
Clifford is due to stand trial on the charge of raping Louise Hunt later this year.