‘Screams of hell await you’, victims’ father tells Kyle Clifford as crossbow killer jailed for life
Triple murderer refused to attend his sentencing hearing on Tuesday
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A triple killer been jailed for a whole-life term after murdering his ex-partner, her sister and mother, with her father BBC racing commentator John Hunt telling Kyle Clifford that the screams of hell are awaiting him.
In a visibly emotional victim impact statement 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 on Tuesday for the murders of his former partner Louise and her sister Hannah with a crossbow while using a butcher’s knife to kill their mother Carol.
The 26-year-old became “enraged” when his 25-year-old ex-girlfriend ended their relationship, which led him to rape and murder her in a “violent, sexual act of spite”.
He succeeded in gaining access to the family home in Bushey on 9 July last year by deceiving her 61-year-old mother Carol Hunt, before he stabbed her eight times and “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.
The screams of hell, Kyle. I can hear them faintly now. They’re going to roll the red carpet out for you
Sentencing Clifford to a whole-life order, judge Mr Justice Bennathan said of Clifford: “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 to the witness stand, Mr Hunt said: “Whatever sentence you’re about to receive, whatever misery lies ahead for you in the next 60 years, remain that 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.”
The court previously heard the murders were fuelled by the “violent misogyny promoted” by Andrew Tate, after it emerged that Clifford searched for the controversial social media influencer’s podcast less than 24 hours before the attacks.
Cambridge Crown Court was told Clifford had been seen by a friend of Louise viewing a Tate video “which showed animals who had been drugged”, which the killer found “funny”.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC told the court: “Andrew Tate can properly be described as a poster boy for misogynists, a poster boy for those who view women as possession to be controlled.
“In that context, and in light of all the other background material, it is no coincidence, the prosecution submit, that it was Andrew Tate that the defendant turned to the night before he would go off to commit these acts of violence against women.”
On the evening of 8 July, Clifford had searched online for a podcast made by Tate, while his work supervisor said he was “unhappy with the way that the defendant spoke about women”.
Over the course of his 18-month relationship with Louise, she had told friends that he had a “nasty temper” and behaved in an “aggressive manner”. Her family and friends had hoped the relationship would come to an end as they became concerned about his behaviour, with her sister Hannah deeming him to be “disrespectful, rude and arrogant”.
Five days before the murders, Louise made a note on her phone titled “When you’re sad, look” which set out how Clifford was “racist”, commented he “did not like transgender people” and used “belittling language”.
The killer had also hidden the fact he had relationships with other women during his time with Louise and was signed up to online dating sites Hinge and Bumble.
Prior to meeting Louise, Clifford had been in the army for two years, with his former commander being recorded concluding he was “wholly unsuited to military employment and has no care nor concern beyond himself.”
Stating that Louise had said “enough is enough”, Mr Hunt said: “When I challenged myself about how you were able to deceive us all, I simply say that you are a psychopath who, for the duration of your time together with Louise, was able to disguise yourself as an ordinary human being.”
He added that Carol had shown compassion towards Clifford until her final moments, urging him to seek relationship help and guidance just seconds before he stabbed her eight times.
Mr Hunt said the impact of the deaths would continue with him to the grave.
“But on the way there, I want you to know that I stand strong before you today as you, Kyle, are consigned to a fate far greater than death.
“I can draw on the love and strength that I still (have) from my girls in every moment of every day.”
His eldest and only surviving daughter Amy Hunt called Clifford a “monster” and said that what he did “to my baby sister is nothing short of demonic”.
She broke down and wept part way through her victim impact statement, as she said Clifford’s “monstrous, selfish actions” had devastated the loved ones of Carol, Hannah and Louise.
“You planned to take the lives of three women who have never done anything to hurt you and for what – you got dumped,” she said.
In the days leading up to the attacks, he had searched how to purchase a crossbow and had accessed pornography, including a video of former HMP Wandsworth prison officer Linda De Sousa Abreu, who admitted having sex with a prisoner.
He had also told his brother Bradley Clifford, who is in prison serving a life sentence for murder, that he had bought a crossbow, but didn’t reveal his intended to harm anyone.
During his sentencing, Mr Justice Bennathan continued: “Your brutal and cowardly attack had been planned over about 11 days.
“You conducted extensive research into the movements of Louise’s father John, into her mother’s Facebook page, into buying a crossbow, a knife and an air pistol, and even into the weather on the day of the attack.”
The judge added that Clifford wrote letters to his own family that were “dripping with self-pity”.
Addressing the victim impact statements made by John and Amy Hunt, he added: “They showed a gentle heroism of which you, Kyle Clifford, can only dream.”
Commenting on the sentencing of Kyle Clifford, Abigail Ampofo, Interim CEO at Refuge said: “The fact that this was a targeted attack by someone known to the victims – Louise’s ex-partner – highlights the very real danger posed by those who use violence to exert control over their intimate partners.
“This is a stark reminder that the risks of domestic violence do not end with a breakup or separation.
“It is shocking to many that dangerous weapons, like crossbows, can be accessed without proper registration or licensing, and we welcome the Government’s continued consideration of tightening laws around such weapons.”