Three victims of 'crossbow murder' identified as wife and daughters of BBC commentator
The three women who were found fatally injured in an alleged crossbow attack at a house in Bushey have been identified.
Earlier this morning (10 June) it was reported that three woman had been killed in the leafy Hertfordshire town last night, with a major police manhunt currently ongoing in North London for the suspected perpetrator.
The identities of the three victims, who were previously reported to have been related, have now been confirmed as as Carol Hunt, 61, and her two daughters, aged 25 and 28.
Hunt was the wife of BBC racing commentator John Hunt, with LBC and The Mirror reporting that his daughters were named Louise and Hannah.
In a statement confirming the incident a spokesperson for Hertfordshire Police said: "Police were called to a property in Ashlyn Close just before 7pm (9 July). Officers attended alongside colleagues from the East of England Ambulance Service and on arrival, found three women with serious injuries. Sadly, despite their best efforts, the women, who are believed to be related, died a short time later at the scene."
Authorities have also confirmed they are looking for a 26-year-old man named Kyle Clifford who is wanted in connection with the incident.
Updating the public on Clifford's potential whereabouts, Detective Superintendent Rob Hall from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit urged people not to approach him as he 'may still be in possession of a weapon' and instead contact the police straight away.
"Whilst we are still in the early stages of this investigation, we are actively seeking Kyle Clifford who we believe could be in the areas of Hertfordshire or North London," he said during a press conference.
"Given the serious nature of the incident, I would ask anyone who knows where he is to contact police immediately. If you believe you see him, please do not approach him and dial 999 straight away. He may still be in possession of a weapon.
"Our inquiries will continue over the coming days to ascertain the full circumstances of what happened, but I would also like to take this opportunity to appeal to anyone who was in the area around Ashlyn Close from around lunchtime on Tuesday until 7pm, and believes they may have seen anything that could assist the investigation, to contact us."
Clifford is believed to have links to the Enfield area of North London.
A resident of Ashlyn Close, Bushey, has since spoken out about the incident, saying it was 'absolutely traumatic' to witness.
"It was between 6.30pm and 7pm last night and it literally just sounded like kids, somebody, screaming, and then it was more shrill and I was like, 'that’s definitely a woman screaming', and within 15 minutes, it was absolute chaos," the 46-year-old, who did not wish to be named, said.
"We had armed police running down, screaming 'stay in your house'…. they shut us off and basically put us into lockdown."
The woman continued: "It’s really, really stressful now to think that that happened in such a close vicinity and none of us were aware and none of us could help. It’s just absolutely traumatic, I think, for the family involved, for everyone.
"I think that’s the stressful thing, that it happened at peak family time between 6pm and 7pm, when people were probably cooking for their kids and getting their kids ready for bed, and all of us in a tight little road, completely unaware of the trauma and tragic circumstances that other people were going through at that particular time."
Brenna Cooper