BBC commentator’s wife and daughters murdered with crossbow

LONDON (AP) – A man is suspected of Two sisters and their mother killed in crossbow attack British police said on Thursday that she was in a “critical condition” at a London medical institution, as officers had to carry out additional house searches.

Tributes have been paid to three girls – the family of a prominent BBC commentator – who were found seriously injured at their home in the Shanti residential community of Bushey, north-east of the capital, on Tuesday evening. Police and ambulance crews tried to save 61-year-old Carol Hunt and her daughters Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25, but they were pronounced dead at the scene.

The women were the wife and two daughters of BBC Radio sports commentator John Hunt. He is the main racing commentator for BBC 5 Live, the company’s news and sports radio channel. His accent is known to millions through his coverage of the region’s famous Brilliant National and The Derby.

The murders prompted a massive manhunt that culminated in the capture of suspect Kyle Clifford on Wednesday in a cemetery attached to his home in Enfield, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the crime scene.

Clifford, 26, was once carried on a stretcher from Lavender Hill Cemetery without incident. Police said the negative photographs were removed.

Hertfordshire Police said in a statement on Thursday that Clifford was in a “critical condition” and had not yet been spoken to by officers. It said a crossbow was recovered as part of the investigation.

Detective Superintendent Rob Corridor, of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: “This was an unprecedented attack and we are committed to understanding the full circumstances of what happened that evening and the events that followed.

At a memorial ceremony at nearby St James’s Church, stunned friends and neighbors expressed their condolences to John Hunt and one of his elder daughters. Others planted saplings belonging to the scene of the attack, which was cordoned off.

“We grew up together and got pregnant at the same time,” said Lee Holloway, who has known Carol Hunt since she was 16. “This is the stuff nightmares are made of… I can’t imagine what it would be like.”

In a post on Facebook, colleagues of Hannah Hunt at the nearby Anti-Getting Old Hospital said they learned of “the horrific murder of our skin therapist Hannah on Tuesday night” with “deep regret and sadness”.

Others remembered Louise Hunt through paintings of her as a dog sitter. “RIP Lewis. Reggie says thank you for making him look so beautiful,” said a card left with the wreath belonging to the crime scene.

Police have not yet said how or whether Clifford was connected to the women, but said they believe the attack was targeted. British media reported that Clifford had once been the former boyfriend of one of the victims.

In addition to searching Clifford’s home, police were also searching for a home belonging to her brother, Bradley Clifford, who was sentenced to a minimum of 23 years in prison in 2018 for the murder of moped passenger Soban Khan.

BBC 5 Live’s managing presenter Mark Chapman, who often presented Hunt’s comments, struggled to choke back tears when talking about the “heartbreaking day”.

The Racing Society additionally expressed its support for the Hunt, with jockeys at Kempton Landscape Racecourse wearing black armbands and Newmarket Racecourse maintaining a short silence.

In Britain the community is not licensed to possess a crossbow, but it is illegal to carry one in public without a proper excuse.

Labor Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has been in office for some time, expressed his sympathy and said the government was considering tightening the law on crossbows.

“In relation to crossbows, the Home Secretary has announced that she will look at the legislation and we will, but there is no escaping how horrific this incident was,” Starmer told a BBC program at the NATO meeting in Washington.

The weapon has recently been used in various high-profile crimes.

In December 2021, a would-be attacker entered Windsor Castle armed with a loaded crossbow and was planning to kill Queen Elizabeth II. -Jaswant Singh Chail requested to be charged with treason And they were sentenced to a maximum of one day to nine years in prison.