Depraved crossbow killer Kyle Clifford had a ‘nasty temper’ and ridiculed and controlled his ex-girlfriend Louise Hunt.
Last July, mother Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters, Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25, were brutally murdered at their family home in Bushey, Hertfordshire. Carol, who was the wife of BBC commentator John Hunt, died from stab wounds to her chest and stomach, while their daughters died from crossbow bolt injuries, after being the victims of a “targeted attack”.
Louise’s ex-boyfriend, security guard Clifford, 27, carried out acts of “extreme violence” against the three women, after she bravely ended their relationship. The ex-soldier fled the murder scene and was later found by police in a cemetery in Enfield with self-inflicted injuries. Clifford pleaded guilty to all three murders and has today been found guilty of rape.
Cowardly Clifford, who refused to come to court for the trial, denied rape and claimed his DNA was found on Louise after they had consensual sex 16 days before the murders. But today, a jury took just minutes to return a guilty verdict. Prosecutors are now expected to demand that he is handed a whole-life term when he is sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court.
Clifford, from Enfield, north London, met “caring, positive and happy” Louise on a dating site but her loved ones grew “concerned” about their relationship, prosecutors said. One of Louise’s pal said Clifford had a “nasty temper”, while another said he was “disrespectful, rude and arrogant”. She said Louise was concerned about their romance and wanted it to end.
Her vile ex is said to have had relationships with two women he worked with while he was with Louise. He hid these relationships from her, but she ended their romance after they attended a wedding of a friend in Scarborough, north Yorkshire. She messaged him saying she had spoken to her father and “they needed to have a conversation”.
It sparked a flurry of furious messages from Clifford, in which said he was “not going to take sh*t from her” and he was not going to “beg someone to love me for who I am”, the court heard. He allegedly signed off by saying: “So you can go talk to your dad and whoever else and moan about it etc go ahead. Goodnight.”
Neighbour Glyn Nicholas, 77, told Mail Online that Louise was left so shaken by the split that she crashed her car in the week before her tragic death. Glyn said: “Louise was a very nice girl. She ran a dog grooming business from the house. I heard that she split from a boyfriend last week and was very upset about it.
“So much so that she was driving home at some point last week and drove into a wooden telegraph pole not far from the house. Another dog groomer – who is a friend of Louise’s – told me that her car door had caved in because of the crash. Who the boyfriend was, I don’t know, I never saw him.”
In her final tweet shared on social media platform X – formerly known as Twitter – brave Louise reposted a message praising ‘women who leave’. The tweet read: “I admire women who leave. I don’t give a f**k if you left after the 1st time or the 12th time, I admire that s**t! I don’t give a f**k if people was calling you dumb for 11 years but in the 12th year you decided you was done. It takes A LOT of strength to break a tie. It takes A LOT of self love to choose yourself.”
A source, reportedly one of Louise’s friends, said Clifford put on a “nice guy” act but had been “controlling” her. The heartbroken friend told the Daily Mail: “Kyle was controlling and used to ridicule Louise. In public, he made himself out to be a nice guy, but in private he was anything but. There hadn’t been any previous incidents of violence towards Louise – nothing that we knew about anyway – but he imposed himself on her.”
The friend claimed that Kyle had stopped Louise from wearing make-up and there were “red flags” in the relationship. She added that people were “relieved” when the couple split. She said: “It was certain things like Louise used to like wearing make-up but then she stopped wearing make-up – and that was down to Kyle.”
During the trial, Cambridge Crown Court heard Clifford tried to “rekindle” their relationship after Louise was “supported” by friends and family to end their 18-month romance. But he was furious after being “rebuffed” by her and set about orchestrating a “carefully planned and executed” attack on her family, to slaughter “more than one person”.
On June 26, Louise made her final decision to end the relationship and messaged Kyle: “Good morning, hope you’re doing OK this morning. I’m sorry Kyle but I feel I can’t continue with what we have, I feel like it’s been broken and I can’t ignore how I’ve been feeling or made to feel in our relationship over the course of the year. I don’t know that in the future if we both do the work on ourselves this could be something amazing, but I just feel right now I owe it to myself to take some space and walk away for my own sanity and health.
“Thank you for the incredible time we’ve had this year, I hope you know how much I love you and still will for a long time. I never want there to be anything nasty between us ever. Take care of yourself always please.”
Ten minutes later, Clifford replied: “Thank you for the clarity so we can both start our healing process. I love you so much and I will for a long time. I will always be here for you. If you ever need me please don’t hesitate.”
But despite seeming to accept the “amicable” break-up, Clifford began plotting the attack. He set about buying weapons to kill the trio in a carefully-curated, twisted plan, which involved tricking her mum, Carol, in order to gain access to the family home, then “restraint and rape” Louise, the court heard.
On the day of July 9, Clifford took a letter to Carol at the family home and asked her if he could retrieve some belongings. He told her he had written “card to say bye”. Their conversation was picked up in a recording, and Carol was heard telling Clifford: “Maybe, maybe think in the next relationship… the way you are and maybe try and change [inaudible]. If you carry on like this you’ll end up on your own.”
Clifford replied. “I’ve started therapy as well”, before Carol told him: “I don’t think you’re a nasty person.” After the heart-to-heart, Carol then told Clifford, “Well I wish you luck Kyle,” before he asked for a bag to put in Louise’s possessions. But within a minute of stepping inside the property after Carol let him in, a series of screams were heard, the court was told.
Clifford knifed Carol and then returned to his car to collect a crossbow, which he carried hidden under a white blanket. He then waited for Louise to enter the property before “restraining, raping and ultimately murdering her” with the weapon. When her sister Hannah returned home from work, he also attacked her with the crossbow. When police arrived to the property, Louise and Carol were dead and Hannah was alive with a crossbow bolt in her chest. Sadly, she too could not be saved and died soon after.
If you would like to seek help, you can visit the Women’s Aid information support page on their website here. Survivors can also reach help through the Solace Advice Line by calling 08088025565 or by emailing them at advice@solacewomensaid.org. Alternatively, you can also contact A-Sisterhood via call on 07968369588 or by email at paula@a-sisterhood.org.uk.
