LONDON – A man suspected of killing the wife and daughters of a BBC radio sports commentator with a crossbow was being treated in hospital on Thursday after being found injured in a cemetery about 14 miles from the scene of the crimes.
Police spent almost a day searching for Kyle Clifford after the attack on Carol Hunt, 61, and her daughters Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25, at their home in Bushey, northwest London. Police and ambulance crews called to the suburban cul-de-sac on Tuesday night tried to save them but were pronounced dead at the scene.
After a frantic search across a strip of north London, Clifford, 26, was found on Wednesday in the Enfield area of north London, close to his home.
Sky News footage showed the suspect being carried on a stretcher out of Lavender Hill cemetery. Armed police, forensic personnel and ambulance crews gathered around the cemetery throughout the day.
The police did not say how he was injured, but stressed that no shots had been fired. They said Clifford has not yet been arrested.
“Following extensive inquiries, the suspect has been located and no one else is being sought in connection with the investigation at this time,” said Detective Inspector Justine Jenkins of the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Serious Crime Unit.
Police have not said how or if Clifford was linked to the women, but said they believe the attack was targeted. British media reported that Clifford was the ex-boyfriend of one of the victims.
Jenkins said the investigation was moving “at a rapid pace” and that formal identification of the victims had not yet occurred.
The BBC confirmed that the victims were the family of sports commentator John Hunt. Hunt is the main racing commentator for BBC 5 Live, the corporation’s flagship news and sport channel. His voice is known to millions of people through his coverage of the world famous Grand National and The Derby.
Shocked neighbors came on Wednesday night to lay flowers near the site of the attack.
“They were the loveliest, kindest family,” said Su Kehinde, who lives nearby. “They were the meekest human beings. They didn’t deserve this. They were beautiful souls.”
People in Britain do not need a license to own a crossbow, but it is illegal to carry one in public without a reasonable excuse.
The new Labor government, which took office last week, said it would “rapidly consider” the findings of a recently launched review into whether controls on crossbow ownership should be tightened.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis said Home Secretary Yvette Cooper would “look clearly and very carefully at what happened yesterday – devastating events – and take a view into the near future”.
The weapon has been used in several high-profile crimes in recent years. In December 2021, a suspected attacker carrying a loaded crossbow broke into Windsor Castle after being encouraged by an AI chatbot to kill Queen Elizabeth II. Jaswant Singh Jail pleaded guilty to one count of treason and was sentenced to nine years in prison.
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