Suspect captured after BBC commentator's wife and daughters killed at home

Armed police have captured a former soldier wanted in connection with a suspected crossbow triple murder which claimed the lives of a BBC racing commentator’s wife and two daughters.

- AMY-CLARE MARTIN , ALEXANDER BUTLER , TARA COBHAM

Detectives said Kyle Clifford, 26, was receiving medical treatment after he was apprehended in the Enfield area of north London yesterday afternoon following a major manhunt. Hertfordshire Police said he was found with injuries and no shots were fired by police in the search for Mr Clifford, who was feared to be armed with a crossbow.

Meanwhile, tributes flooded in for three members of the “most gentle, beautiful family” killed in a “targeted” attack in their home in Bushey, Hertfordshire. The BBC confirmed on its news website that the victims were BBC racing commentator John Hunt’s wife Carol, 61, and two of their daughters – Hannah Hunt, 28, a beautician, and her sister Louise, 25, who ran a dog grooming business.

Officers were called to Ashlyn Close, Bushey, just before 7pm on Tuesday after neighbours heard screams in the quiet cul-de-sac. Inside, they found three seriously injured women. Despite the efforts of paramedics, all three family members were pronounced dead at the scene.

Clifford to contact police yesterday as they warned members of the public not to approach him and dial 999.

Armed officers were seen raiding a flat in Enfield and swarming a cemetery, with a nearby primary school put on lockdown, before police confirmed he had been located that afternoon. Footage captured by Sky News appeared to show him being stretchered out of Lavender Hill cemetery before being loaded into an ambulance.

Mr Clifford, who is said to be known to the Hunt family, left the British Army in 2022 following a brief period of service, The Independent understands. A former army boss told The Sun that he was “immature for his age and had a bit of a chip on his shoulder”, adding that he worked in private security after leaving the force.