My wife and daughters left behind a legacy of love, John Hunt tells BBC

BBC racing commentator John Hunt, whose wife and two of his daughters were murdered last July, describes in an emotional first interview the legacy of love they left behind.

According to John and his daughter Amy, it was this that had allowed them to endure their agony and trauma.

Carol, Louise and Hannah remained such a constant presence in their lives that he still talks to them every day, almost a year on from their deaths, John says.

He says, “I greet each of them when I wake up,” he says.

“Sometimes I say out loud to Hannah and Louise, ‘ girls, sorry I can’t be with you, I’m with your mum at the moment’. I chat with them as well as closing my eyes at night. They’re very close to me all the time”.

Because they don’t want their loved ones to be defined by their deaths, John and Amy say they made the decision to speak out now. They also feel much of the initial reporting after the murders was inaccurate and it added to their pain.

Additionally, they’ve shared family photos with the BBC that have never been seen.

Kyle Clifford fatally stabbed 61-year-old Carol, raped his former partner, Louise, 25, then used a crossbow to shoot both her and her sister Hannah, 28 – all at their family home in Bushey, Hertfordshire, in July last year.

My mother, Hannah, and Louise became a statistic, according to Amy, the moment Clifford left their home on the day of the incident. They became victims of Kyle Clifford”.

“I want to give my mother, Hannah, and Louise, who are all capable of being fully-rounded, new life.”

Amy and John tell the BBC’s Derbyshire, Victoria they also strongly reject reports there were clear signs of abuse by Clifford during his relationship with Louise.

The Hunt family has always had a close relationship.

In the early years of their marriage, Carol encouraged John – then a police officer – to pursue his dream of becoming a racing commentator.

Their three daughters, Amy, the eldest, Hannah, the middle daughter, and Louise, the “baby,” inherited that unwavering conviction. They talked all the time and shared everything with each other.

In their Bushey, Hertfordshire, house, John, Carol, Hannah, and Louise coexisted. Louise ran a dog-grooming business from a pod in the garden and Hannah worked in aesthetics and beauty.

According to John, their life was “one of complete happiness – awash with it, really.”

They remember one Friday night last May, two months before the murders, when the three sisters had gone out for sushi together.

We talked about how lucky we were as a family, having the right parents, and having a good life, Amy says.

John agrees, and adds that when Hannah came home from the dinner, she was “typically effusive”.

“She stormed through the door, and Carol said, “You had a lovely time,” she said. And she said, ‘ do you know what, mum? We discussed our level of affluence. We have been so lucky. Through your life, he claims, “we haven’t experienced a minute of worry or concern.”

“It’s a beautiful thing to recall. At the same time, it was beautiful to hear.

Although the family was happy, Louise and Clifford’s relationship had started to deteriorate. At the end of June, Louise broke up with him.

On the pretext of returning some of Louise’s items, Clifford showed up at the family’s home on July 9th, less than two weeks later.

Doorbell footage captured the moment Carol opened the door to Clifford, and greeted him with friendly advice.

She said to him, “Maybe… maybe think about it in the next relationship,” and perhaps try to change. If you carry on like this you’ll end up on your own”. Clifford accepted and informed her that he had begun therapy, which appeared to be cordial.

Carol turned to go into the house, and Clifford followed her inside.

After waiting in the house for Louise to return from her dog grooming pod, he then repeatedly stabbed her. When she did, he restrained, raped, and killed her with a crossbow. He also shot Hannah with the crossbow when she later came back.

In her dying moments, Hannah messaged her boyfriend, Alex, and managed to call 999. She was able to explain what had occurred to them and, crucially, who was at fault. John was in central London at the time. He thinks Clifford intended to murder him as well.

“Police officers of 30 years ‘ experience had their breath taken away by how brave she was, how she was able to think so clearly in that moment, to know what she needed to do”, John says.

When questioned about whether Hannah’s actions saved his life, John replies, “That’s what I think.”

The narrative grew too contrived as the murders’ stories became more and more prevalent.

John says” from day one “their family – and in particular, Louise – was” completely misrepresented in the media and on social media”, including false suggestions Louise was in a controlling and coercive relationship with Kyle Clifford.

He and Amy recall misinformation from news websites, including the claim that John was responsible for bringing his wife and daughters’ bodies into their home.

They also remember photographs being lifted from their loved ones ‘ social media pages by sections of the media without consent, something John describes as” grave-robbing”.

Amy recalls a newspaper headline that read, “Crossbow maniac was jilted,” a framing she calls “victim-blaming.”

But most painful, they say, were claims in the press that there were clear signs of abuse and misogyny in Clifford’s relationship with Louise.

The family, according to John and Amy, had reservations about Clifford because some aspects of him weren’t particularly warm to them. He was immature and, at times, inconsiderate. They claim that he struggled with conflict and was unattemptful. The family, including Louise, would talk to each other about Clifford’s lack of consideration.

They claim that their relationship sounded unremarkable. The two of them would giggle and cuddle in the house, watch films together, cook together, go on holidays to Europe and take weekend trips to the seaside.

A turning point came when the couple went away for a friend’s wedding. Louise had trouble using the oven in their home the night before the wedding. The next day, when other wedding guests asked Louise what she did for a living, Clifford would interject with the barb that” one thing she doesn’t do is know how to work an oven properly”.

Clifford began to denigrate her. When looking through the couple’s text messages after Louise’s death – something John says he found” very difficult to do “as the messages were personal to Louise – they noticed signs, from spring 2024, of” gentle manipulation”.

But did they notice anything that suggested the relationship was abusive at the time?

No, John says. When Louise and Clifford were together, Cliff never physically assaulted her. The family also never heard them raise their voices at each other.

There was a clear indication that he had turned out to be a bad person at the time Louise and Louise ended the relationship, Amy claims.

” But I want to put it very bluntly now. Was there any evidence to support this man’s ability to murder my mother, tie up Louise, rape Louise, shoot Hannah and stab me? Absolutely not.

He’s frequently called a “crossbow killer” and a “crossbow maniac,” but that distracts from the very real problem that we are aware of. He was just a person, just a man… who went to the gym, had a family, had a relationship, watched TV.

In the months that followed the murders, John and Amy had to navigate a complex criminal justice system.

John makes a point of highlighting the”extraordinary people” who supported them: the police, their family liaison, their lawyer, and the compassionate judge who oversaw the rape trial and sentenced Clifford. They were, they say”, very lucky to have met these people in these terrible circumstances”.

He continues, “each of them is operating in a system that is obviously not fit for purpose.”

On the day Clifford appeared at magistrates ‘ court after being charged, John and Amy’s family liaison officers weren’t able to attend the hearing with them as they were at another murder in Luton.

“It just so happened that they uncovered aspects of the murders from nobody that we had not even heard of,” John says in the magistrates’ court that morning. That was an awful day. “

Then, using a newspaper headline, Amy learned the details of her sister Hannah’s final words.

When they spoke to the CPS about their concerns, they were given a complaint form and told to return it within 28 working days -” as if we’d had our bike stolen”.

Amy claims that the hearing was called off because the prison transportation “didn’t turn up to take him to court” on another day when Clifford was scheduled to enter his pleas.

The proceedings were long and torturous for John and Amy. Before entering a guilty plea, Clifford initially denied the allegations against him, with the exception of the rape one. This meant the case had to go to trial. In March, he was found guilty.

Clifford refused to attend his sentencing later that month, meaning he did not hear the judge’s damning comments about him, or the devastating testimonies written by John and Amy.

According to Amy, “It’s consistently a system that prioritizes the perpetrator.” That’s a traumatising thing for so many people. “

The Hunt family, who had the courage and strength to go to court every day and witness the harrowing truth of what happened to Carol, Louise, and Hannah, is described as having “the utmost admiration for the Hunt family.”

In the months since the sentencing, John and Amy say they’ve been trying to focus on living again.

How on earth am I ever going to care about anything ever again when it happened? John says.

“It’s fine to sit there and contemplate that in the wreckage of our personal disaster.” But you come to realise that, with a little bit of work, you can find some light again”.

He claims that they have found solace in loving one another, supportive groups, mindfulness training, and good counsellors and support groups.

But above all, every day he remembers Hannah’s final act, and how it saved his life. He claims, “I get to live.” “Hannah gave me that, and I’ve got to treat it as a gift from her”.