The 'screams of hell' await crossbow killer, says father

Kyle Clifford given whole-life order for triple murder

- HOLLY EVANS

A triple killer has been given a whole-life term after murdering his ex-partner, her sister and mother, with her father, the BBC racing commentator John Hunt, telling Kyle Clifford that the “screams of hell” await him.

In a victim impact statement during which he was visibly emotional, Mr Hunt said Clifford was “callous, cowardly and vindictive”, and that his levels of misogyny were “off the scale”. Clifford refused to attend his sentencing yesterday for the murders of his former partner Louise and her sister Hannah with a crossbow. He used a butcher’s knife to kill their mother, Carol.

The 26-year-old became “enraged” when his 25-year-old exgirlfriend ended their relationship, and he raped and murdered her in a “violent, sexual act of spite”. He gained access to the family home in Bushey on 9 July last year by deceiving her 61year-old mother, Carol Hunt, before he stabbed her eight times and then “lay in wait” for Louise to enter the property.

He restrained her by tying her wrists and ankles, raped her and shot her with a crossbow, before also killing her 28-year-old sister Hannah when she returned home from work. Sentencing Clifford to a whole-life order, the judge, Mr Justice Bennathan said: “The evidence I have heard shows you to be a jealous man soaked in self-pity – a man who holds women in utter contempt.”

Taking the witness stand, Mr Hunt said: “Whatever sentence you’re about to receive, whatever misery lies ahead for you in the next 60 years ... after your days on earth are done, on your dying day there will be no release for you, Kyle. The screams of hell, Kyle. I can hear them faintly now. They’re going to roll the red carpet out for you. The person you could have been will meet the person you are, and you will realise your miserable fate will last for eternity.”