Manhunt timeline: How seek for crossbow homicide suspect unfolded
The switch from quiet, suburban cul-de-sac to frantic crime scene happened almost instantaneously.
Neighbours on Ashlyn Close in Bushey, Hertfordshire, suddenly became aware of screaming at shortly before 7pm on Tuesday. Police, then ambulances, darted to the scene.
The discovery was grim – three women, all shot dead in their own home in what was believed to be a targeted attack. The weapon – a crossbow.
The suspect is Kyle Clifford, a 26-year-old ex-military man and security guard, who was also the former boyfriend of one of the victims, Louise Hunt, 25.
Ms Hunt, a successful and popular dog groomer, was found slain alongside her mother, Carol Hunt, 61, the wife of BBC radio commentator John Hunt, and the couple’s older daughter Hannah, 28.
Kyle Clifford, a former soldier and security guard, was apprehended by police after a 24-hour man hunt on suspicion of murder
Victim Louise Hunt, 25, (pictured) is the ex-girlfriend of crossbow suspect Kyle Clifford
Hannah, 28, who worked nearby as a beautician, ‘always had a smile’
Hannah Hunt, 28, and her mother Carol Hunt, 61, were also found dead in the family home
BBC horse racing commentator John Hunt (pictured) is a voice known to millions
But the sudden appearance of the emergency services, interrupting an otherwise unremarkable evening in this leafy pocket of London’s commuter belt, pricked the memories of neighbours.
Was there any connection to Louise’s recent break-up, in which she was apparently so distressed that she crashed her car into a telephone pole at the edge of her driveway?
Neighbour Glyn Nicholas, 77, recalled the dog groomer, who ran her business from the home, was ‘very upset’ about splitting with Clifford.
‘A friend of Louise’s told me that her car door had caved in because of the crash,’ he said.
‘Carol was a nice, polite and quiet lady. She was at home a lot of the time.
‘They were all very nice, a private family. They all did their own things.
‘Louise started a business a couple of years ago, and it was a thriving business – we all took our dogs there to be groomed.
Louise Hunt, 25, (pictured) was the ex-girlfriend of suspect Kyle Clifford and was one of the three women found dead in the family home
Hannah Hunt, 28, and her mother Carol Hunt, 61, were also found dead in the family home
Floral tributes near to the scene in Ashlyn Close, Bushey, Hertfordshire, where Carol Hunt, 61, the wife of BBC Five Live racing commentator John Hunt, and two of their daughters, Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25, were killed
Police officers at the scene in Ashlyn Close, where the three victims were killed in an attack allegedly involving a crossbow
A message left for the victims read: ‘I wish none of this was real’
A message attached to floral tributes left for Carol Hunt and two daughters Hannah and Louise, who were slain in their family home
‘A very close-knit family and they used to love the street.’
A friend added: ‘(Mum Carol) said her daughter’s split with her boyfriend was messy. Carol did not go into too much detail, but you could see she was concerned.’
The manhunt for Clifford began in earnest, and the whole street suddenly became aware that something terrible had happened.
‘Within 15 minutes, it was absolute chaos,’ one neighbour said.
‘We had armed police running down, screaming, “Stay in your house” … they shut us off and basically put us into lockdown.’
It is understood the police missed their suspect by mere minutes.
Doorbell footage showed a man matching Clifford’s description walking with purpose away from the Hunts’ home at 6.50pm.
Under his arm, a large, bulky item secreted beneath a white sheet.
The man then got into a car and fled the scene.
Doorbell footage shows a man believed to be Kyle Clifford walking away from a house containing the dead bodies of three women
Police cordoned off Ashlyn Close, home of the Hunt family in Bushey, Hertforshire, after being called to the scene on Tuesday evening
Police believed the suspect used a crossbow to attack the three victims
The police’s arrival, so soon after the massacre, was not triggered by neighbours’ concerns, however.
Indeed it is believed the police were called to the property by one of the brave victims, who somehow managed to alert emergency services while her relatives perished – and moments before she also died from her injuries.
Police initially kept a lid on the tragedy.
But by around 9am the following day, they asked for the public’s help.
In a highly unusual move, detectives named former soldier Clifford as their prime suspect.
Passengers arriving at London’s Victoria railway station during the morning rush hour were funneled through exit barriers, allowing police officers to scan the crowd, looking for Clifford.
Detectives reasoned the suspect did not have much time to get too far before the police turned up, so focussed much of their attention on Hertfordshire and North London, where Clifford was from.
At 12.30pm, police confirmed the identity of the suspects, with Chief Superintendent Jon Simpson appealing directly to the triple murder suspect to hand himself in.
‘Kyle, if you are seeing or hearing this, please make contact,’ he said.’
And he confirmed the attack was believed to have been ‘targeted’.
He said there were ‘extensive police resources deployed to various locations’, with armed officers and specialist search teams involved.
This had included storming Clifford’s family home in Rendlesham Road, Enfield, around 14 miles to the east of Bushey, shortly before the police appeal that morning.
Chief Superintendent Jon Simpson of Hertfordshire Police appealed for the triple murder suspect to hand himself in
Police confirmed the names of the victims, and urged the public not to approach the suspect
And then a development. Clifford’s abandoned vehicle was discovered nearby.
Schools locally were put into lockdown as police from Hertfordshire and the Met stormed the area, intensifying the search for Clifford.
One mother said: ‘They had cordoned off the road and were ushering people away from the house they were going into.
‘They had the full protective gear on, guns, shields and helmets – the kind you’d expect to see in riots.
The net closed in on their suspect, and the hunt moved to nearby Lavender Hill cemetery.
Armed police search Lavender Hill Cemetery in Enfield, as the search for Kyle Clifford intensified
Armed police search the area in Enfield, north London, not far from Clifford’s family home
Police guard the scene where fugitive Kyle Clifford was found, Lavender Hill Cemetry, with apparent self-inflicted wounds
Rae Cresswell, 26, a local who filmed the commotion, said: ‘I saw about ten officers coming in. I was quite worried because they were armed and there were dogs with them.
‘I asked them if they wanted me to leave but they said it was fine to stay. They started checking the area so I left shortly after and came back to see all these vehicles.’
Camera crews also picked up the moment emergency services flocked to the site.
Police and two accompanying medics could be seen running along a back lane before darting left through a clearing and into the cemetery.
Armed police kept a vigil at the gap, keeping members of the public and journalists away from the site.
Shortly after, broadcasters captured the suspect being taken away on a stretcher, flanked by police and medics, having apparently shooting himself.
He was placed into an ambulance.
Police were thought to have spent around two hours inside the cemetery before detaining the suspect. Officers said no shots were fired.
Clifford was taken by road ambulance to the Royal London hospital to be treated for his injuries.
The manhunt was over. And shortly before 6.30pm, police confirmed to the public that the police had got their man.
