Crossbow killer Kyle Clifford sentenced to whole life order after murdering BBC commentator’s wife and daughters
Kyle Clifford has been sentenced to a whole life order for the crossbow and knife murders of his ex-partner Louise Hunt, her sister Hannah Hunt and her mother Carol Hunt.
Clifford, 26, attacked and killed Carol, the wife of BBC racing commentator John Hunt, and their two daughters at the family home in Hertfordshire last July, shortly after Louise ended her relationship with him.
The court heard how Clifford had entered the Hunt family home on 9 July 2024 under the guise of returning some of Louise's possessions and attacked Carol, 61, with a knife.
He then tied up Louise before killing her and 28-year-old Hannah with a crossbow. Clifford previously pleaded guilty to the triple killing and was later found guilty of sexually assaulting 25-year-old Louise in a 'violent, sexual act of spite'.
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Passing the sentence, judge Mr Justice Bennathan told the court: "The evidence I have heard shows you to be a jealous man soaked in self-pity – a man who holds women in utter contempt.
"I therefore make clear at once that for each of these three murders, the sentence will be one of life imprisonment with a whole-life order.
"That means a sentence from which you will never be released."
Justice Bennathan went on to state that Clifford had 'planned' the killings for about '11 days' and added he had 'planned and contemplated killing' all three women.
"You conducted extensive research into the movements of Louise’s father John, into her mother’s Facebook page, into buying a crossbow, a knife and an air pistol, and even into the weather on the day of the attack," Justice Bennathan told the court.
The judge then praised police, before adding: "I pay tribute to the astonishing dignity and courage with which Carol, Louise and Hannah’s family conducted themselves throughout these proceedings."
Prior to the sentencing, the court heard victim impact statements from John Hunt and his third daughter Amy, who detailed how the harrowing triple murder had changed their lives forever.
"I am so proud of all my girls. Unlike you Kyle, at every step of their lives they made the correct choices to improve themselves as people," the racing commentator told the court, before adding that he hoped that Louise's bravery would be a 'shining beacon' for other women.
"You planned to take the lives of three women who have never done anything to hurt you and for what – you got dumped," Amy added in her statement.
"It is difficult to think of a more devastating reality than the one you have created, Kyle – though I imagine that these facts mean nothing to you.
“You violently took my mother and sisters from me, and you violently killed almost all of my mum and dad’s children."
Brenna Cooper