LONDON — A man suspected of killing the wife and daughters of a BBC radio sports commentator with a crossbow was treated in hospital on Thursday after he was found injured in a cemetery some 14 miles from the scene of the crimes.
Police had 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 paramedics called to the suburban cul-de-sac on Tuesday evening tried to save them but they were pronounced dead at the scene.
After a frantic search along part of the northern edge of London, Clifford, 26, was found on Wednesday in the Enfield area of ​​north London, near his home.
Footage from Sky News showed the suspect being carried from Lavender Hill Cemetery on a stretcher. Armed police, forensic personnel and ambulance crews had gathered around the cemetery all day.
Police will not say how he was injured, but emphasize that no shots were fired. They said Clifford has not yet been arrested.
“Following extensive inquiries the suspect has been located and no one else is wanted in connection with the investigation at this time,” said Detective Inspector Justine Jenkins of the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit.
Police did not say how or if Clifford was connected to the women, but said they believed the attack was targeted. British media reported that Clifford was an ex-boyfriend of one of the victims.
Jenkins said the investigation was proceeding “at a rapid pace” and formal identification of the victims had yet to take place.
The BBC confirmed the victims were the family of sports commentator John Hunt. Hunt is the lead racing commentator for BBC 5 Live, the corporation’s flagship news and sports radio channel. His voice is known to millions through his coverage of the world famous Grand National and The Derby.
Shocked neighbors came to lay flowers near the site of the attack late on Wednesday.
“They were the sweetest and gentlest family,” said Su Kehinde, who lives nearby. ‘They were the gentlest people. 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 Party government, which took office last week, said it would “swiftly consider” the findings of a recently launched inquiry 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 she will take a position in the near future.”
The weapon has been used in several high-profile crimes in recent years. In December 2021, a would-be attacker broke into Windsor Castle with a loaded crossbow after being encouraged by an AI chatbot to kill Queen Elizabeth II. Jaswant Singh Chail pleaded guilty to treason and was sentenced to nine years in prison.
