Man charged with murder of wife and two daughters of BBC racing commentator John Hunt

A man has been charged with the murder of the wife and two of the daughters of BBC racing commentator John Hunt.

Kyle Clifford, 26, from Enfield, north London, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday. The defendant was also charged with false imprisonment and two counts of possession of offensive weapons, and was remanded in custody after making a second court appearance on Tuesday, at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

Hunt's wife Carol, 61, and daughters Louise, 25, and Hannah, 28, were found fatally injured at their home in Bushey, Hertfordshire, on July 9 following a crossbow attack.

After a manhunt lasting more than 23 hours, Clifford was found with serious injuries in a cemetery in Enfield and taken to hospital. He was subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder, but police were previously unable to speak to the suspect while he received treatment for an injury in hospital.

The hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court was told that he was accused of having a MX-405 compact crossbow and a 25cm knife at the Hunt family home. It was also told that the police and ambulance service had been called by Hannah Hunt.

Detective chief inspector Nick Gardner, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire major crime unit, said: "Our thoughts remain with the Hunt family and their loved ones as they continue to come to terms with their loss.

"Over the past couple of months we have been working hard to gather as much evidence as possible and establish the full circumstances of what happened that day. We have now managed to secure charges against Kyle Clifford in connection with the murders of Carol, Hannah and Louise Hunt.

"Although it has taken some time to reach this stage, we can now move forward with the judicial process and seek justice for their family."

The horrific events shocked racing and the sport united in support of Hunt, who has been BBC Radio 5 Live's racing commentator since 2004 and commentates at tracks across Britain. He returned to race-calling this month at Brighton.

Hunt also has one other daughter, Amy, and a gofundme page supporting them has raised more than £122,000.