Man Convicted of Murder and Rape in BBC Presenter’s Family Tragedy

Kyle Clifford, 26, who had previously admitted to the triple murder of his ex-girlfriend Louise Hunt, her sister Hannah Hunt, and their mother Carol Hunt, was convicted on Thursday (06.2025) for the rape of his former partner during the attack. After approximately 45 minutes of deliberation, Cambridge Crown Court sentenced Kyle Clifford for the rape of his 25-year-old ex-girlfriend Louise Hunt during the brutal family murders involving a crossbow and a 10-inch knife inside their home in North London, UK. Clifford had pleaded guilty in January for the murders of Louise Hunt, her 28-year-old sister Hannah Hunt with a crossbow, and their 61-year-old mother Carol Hunt with a knife on July 9, 2024. The three women were the wife and two daughters of BBC horse racing commentator John Hunt. The 26-year-old defendant, who refused to appear in court as he declined to leave his cell at Belmarsh Prison in southeast London, denied raping Louise in January when he confessed to three counts of murder, one count of false imprisonment, and two counts of illegal possession of weapons. Detective Chief Inspector Nick Gardner from the Major Crime Unit of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Hertfordshire described Clifford’s failure to attend his trial as an ‘absolute act of cowardice.’ During the case, evidence revealed that Clifford accessed the family home in the quiet residential neighborhood of Bushey, northeast of the capital, by deceiving Carol Hunt under the pretense of returning Louise’s belongings before brutally stabbing her to death. Clifford then waited for about an hour until Louise arrived at the house, immobilized her, raped her, and eventually killed her with a crossbow. He subsequently fatally attacked Hannah Hunt upon her return from work. Prosecutors stated that Clifford became ‘deranged’ after his ex-girlfriend ended their 18-month relationship. They claimed he meticulously planned the murders, describing the rape of Louise as a ‘violent act of hate.’ Judge Joel Bennathan described Clifford’s crimes as ‘horrific’ and ‘almost indescribable.’ Following the murders, police launched a manhunt for the suspect before finding him injured the next day at a cemetery in Enfield, north London. Clifford, who served in the army from 2019 for about three years, had shot himself in the chest with the crossbow and remains wheelchair-bound. In information not presented at the sentencing due to a judge’s decision, prosecutors said Clifford searched for a podcast by self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate less than 24 hours before the murders. They argued that the ‘violent misogyny promoted’ by Tate ‘fueled’ Clifford’s attacks.