IT was a crime fuelled by obsessive jealousy – evil crossbow killer Kyle Clifford tricked his way into his ex’s home, where he killed her, her sister and her mother in cold blood.
But, despite his heinous crimes, we can reveal Clifford, 26, has been afforded ‘enhanced’ prisoner status – meaning he gets the highest level of privileges in jail – but he lives in terror with a £10K bounty on his head.
Crossbow killer Kyle Clifford is ‘living in terror’ behind bars amid rumours vengeful lags have placed a £10,000 bounty on his head
Clifford tricked his way into his ex Louise Hunt’s home where he killed her, her sister and her mother before fleeing and sparking a huge manhunt
Mum Carol, pictured with BBC star husband John Hunt, was stabbed to death
Before his brutal rampage, Clifford had legally bought a crossbow, which later left him paralysed for life after he fired a bolt into his chest
Clifford, who at the house of racing commentator , was later handed three life terms for the barbaric killings – but The Sun can reveal that he is now “living in terror” behind bars amid rumours vengeful lags have placed a £10,000 bounty on his head.
Wheelchair-bound ex-soldier Clifford has been placed under extra protective measures by guards who are shielding him from most other inmates at HMP , London, for his own safety.
Clifford – , 25, her sister Hannah, 28, and their mother Carol, 61 – is also being checked on around the clock by officers so he is not harmed.
Worried staff have opened an ACCT – Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork – document on Clifford, which forces them to log his treatment and safety concerns.
But, despite his heinous crimes, we can reveal Clifford has been afforded ‘enhanced’ prisoner status – meaning he gets the highest level of privileges in jail.
The extra rights – earned for good behaviour and commitment to rehabilitation – include a TV and DVD player, to spend in the canteen and access to phone calls and visits.
But Clifford – who shot himself with a crossbow bolt as closed in after the killings, leaving him with “complex” health needs – is still enduring a punishing time at the jail dubbed ‘Hellmarsh’.
A source tells The Sun: “Clifford is being kept under constant guard and is barely allowed out of his cell.
“His injuries put him in extra danger, as he is an easy target.
“So it is too dangerous for him to mix with most of the prisoners at Belmarsh.
“Word has also got round the prison that there is a bounty on his head of £10,000 – meaning that whoever attacks him would be rewarded.
“Whether that would ever be paid is another matter.
“But there are all sorts of people in Belmarsh, from gangsters and armed robbers to drug dealers and terrorists.
“A lot of them want to target him as he attacked women, and because what he did was so cowardly.
“They also resent his infamy and the fact he was all over the news – so if someone got at him, they’d make a massive name for themselves.
His daily routine would be enough to drive anyone mad – and he will be going completely stir-crazy as he’s alone so much and only really sees staff
Source
“And he is a former soldier, so that makes him a target for the Islamist inmates in the jail who would like to get at him.
“His profile and injuries mean he cannot have a job in prison, so he spends up to 23 hours per day banged up on his own in a stifling cell.
“He is living in terror, and his existence is pretty hellish – despite the luxuries he gets.
“His daily routine would be enough to drive anyone mad – and he will be going completely stir-crazy as he’s alone so much and only really sees staff.
“They call his regime ‘minimal’ as he’s barely allowed to do anything.
“But nobody has much sympathy for him, including the guards, because of what he has done and who he is.
Clifford seen purchasing two petrol cans from Halfords before his rampage
BBC commentator John pictured with his murdered daughters Hannah, Louise and wife Carol
Clifford, 26, was handed three life terms for the barbaric killings by a judge who blasted him as ‘soaked in self-pity’
Kyle pictured during his police interview
“The officers also hate the fact they have an ACCT opened up on him – because they don’t think he merits it and it means they have to keep a really detailed log on his treatment and well-being.
“It is a serious document and means loads of extra work and admin.”
Life in ‘Hellmarsh’
in the same jail as killers including Southport fiend , 19, – the killer of MP Jo Cox – and Nicholas Prosper, who and planned a school massacre.
All of the jail’s 900 inmates are locked up for 14 hours – from 6pm to 8am – overnight.
Their day then begins when bright, unforbidding lights are switched on and guards open the doors of their 10ft by 7ft cells.
But Clifford – a former soldier in ‘s – has his movement severely restricted.
His room in the jail’s segregation unit has been adapted due to his injuries, but is still basic, with a bed, desk and toilet.
And Clifford is escorted by four or five officers each time he leaves, takes a shower or makes a phone call.
Our source added: “He can get only an hour to 90 minutes out of his pad – they have to fulfil his basic needs like time outside, calls, showers and legal visits.
“But that’s about all it is safe to do.”
Other inmates and officers are understood to resent Clifford’s ‘enhanced’ status – the highest of three in jails including basic and standard.
The level is for “prisoners who have committed to their rehabilitation, followed the rules and behaved well for at least three months”, according to the Criminal Justice Hub.
But our source added: “They have given him that level to keep him happy, and staff are annoyed about that too.
“He has not had the chance to misbehave because he is kept pretty much on his own, so it seems unjustified.
“But they have to give him things to do to occupy him, and he is obviously in a cell on his own.”
Before his brutal rampage, , a cocking device and six bolts for £350 online.
His injuries put him in extra danger, as he is an easy target
Source
And the day before the killings, he had searched for a podcast by vile influencer and misogynist .
When he arrived at the family home in a cul-de-sac in Bushey, Herts, last July, he checked the racing schedule to see if 5 Live commentator John Hunt would be home.
When Carol answered the door, he told her he was returning some of Louise’s possessions after she .
The fiend then pulled a knife from his backpack and stabbed Carol to death inside the family home.
Obsessed Clifford then fetched a crossbow from his car and returned to the house, where he lay in wait for his ex.
Louise, who ran a dog grooming , was working in a pod in the garden, unaware of the horror that had unfolded inside.
An hour later, when she came into the house, Clifford was waiting – and before killing her with the crossbow.
He then waited two hours, even using Louise’s phone to text John to ask when he would be home.
Clifford then used the crossbow to fatally shoot Hannah when she returned home.
Carol and Louise were found in a snug room by the front door, while Hannah was discovered dying in the hallway after to call the .
Clifford was caught the following afternoon hiding in a cemetery near his family home in Enfield, North .
As armed cops closed in, he fired a crossbow bolt into his chest, which pierced his spinal cord, .
Clifford – whose brother is serving life for murder – carried out the atrocity 13 days after Louise had dumped him.
Family friends leave flowers at Ashlyn Close, Bushey, Hertfordshire, where the horror rampage took place
Clifford shopped at a garden centre on the day of the killings
Clifford was then spotted scoping out the family home to allegedly see how many cars were on the drive
‘Soaked in self-pity’
He was handed three life sentences, without parole, when he was jailed at Crown in March.
Judge Mr Justice Bennathan blasted Clifford as a man “soaked in self-pity” who held women “in utter contempt”.
In a victim impact statement, John Hunt described Clifford as a “psychopath” who was able to disguise himself as “an ordinary human being”.
He added: “The screams of Hell, Kyle, I can hear them faintly now. The red carpet will come out for you.”
In a later interview, the broadcaster told how he still talks to his wife and daughters every day at the home he now shares with his surviving eldest daughter, Amy.
He said: “From the moment I wake up, I say ‘Good morning’ to each of them. I talk to them all every day.”
John added that he had never had concerns about Clifford and “no obvious alarms were ever rung” before the killings.
He is never coming out and they will ultimately have to place him somewhere where he can be kept safely
Source
Clifford is now one of around 70 inmates in the UK serving whole-life orders.
And prison insiders expect him to be switched from Belmarsh when a suitable new jail is found.
Our source explained: “Ultimately, he will have to be moved from Belmarsh, but that is difficult as he’s a Category A prisoner and other jails don’t want him.
“The obvious thing to do with him is put him in a jail with a lot of sex offenders, as he won’t get attacked there.
“But, although there was a sexual element to his crimes, Clifford is dead against that, as that would mean him being jailed alongside loads of paedophiles.
“However, he is never coming out, and they will ultimately have to place him somewhere where he can be kept safely.”
A Prison Service spokesperson did not comment about Clifford.
How the triple killing unfolded
– June 26 2024
Louise Hunt ends her relationship with Clifford, telling him in a message: “I feel like it’s been broken and I can’t ignore how I’ve been feeling or made to feel in our relationship over the course of the year.”
– June 30
Clifford makes internet searches in relation to crossbows and visits websites where they could be purchased.
The defendant then goes on to access pornography.
– July 1
Clifford accesses the Facebook page of Carol Hunt.
The defendant also has a conversation with his brother about buying a crossbow and conducts searches for air rifles.
– July 3
Clifford purchases a Hori-Zone Kornet MXT-405 compound crossbow, a pack of six crossbow bolts and a rope-cocking device through Tactical Archery.
The defendant also buys a £219 CO2 Glock air pistol from The Air Gun Centre in Essex. It was not delivered before the murders and was recalled by the company when it heard about the attacks.
– July 4
Clifford buys two petrol cans from Halfords and two rolls of duct tape from B&Q.
The defendant searches how to uncock a crossbow and fired a crossbow bolt into a tree.
Louise Hunt makes a note on her phone titled “When you’re sad, look”, which set out how Clifford was “racist”, had “commented he did not like transgender people” and had used “belittling language”.
– July 5
Clifford conducts research about sourcing knives.
– July 6
Clifford receives an update on his purchase of a high-level 10in butchering steel knife worth £89. Packaging for the knife was found at his home address but the knife was never found by police.
– July 9
1.07pm: Clifford leaves his home address armed with a knife and a crossbow.
1.48pm: Clifford searches “horse racing today” on the internet to see if Louise Hunt’s father, BBC commentator John Hunt, was working that day.
2.32pm: Clifford knocks on the door of the Hunt family home with a black rucksack allegedly containing a knife and tells Carol Hunt he wants to return items of property.
2.39pm-2.45pm: Carol Hunt is murdered by Clifford in a “brutal” knife attack, with screams and banging sounds heard coming from the property.
3.10pm: Clifford returns to his car to retrieve the crossbow hidden under a white cloth or blanket.
4.13pm: A faint scream is heard shortly after Louise Hunt enters the family home.
4.13pm-6.50pm: Louise Hunt is restrained with duct tape around her ankles and her wrists and the prosecution allege she is raped by Clifford.
5.37pm-5.43pm: The prosecution allege Clifford checks Louise Hunt’s mobile phone to see who she had been in contact with and what she had been looking at on Instagram.
5.44pm: Clifford tells his sister he was shooting his crossbow at a friend’s house and that it was not “illegal” after she asked why he had taken it out.
5.52pm: Clifford messages John Hunt from Louise Hunt’s phone, asking: “What time are you home?”
5.57pm: Clifford searches “if I unplug my smoke detector will it go off”, with the prosecution saying he had contemplated the use of fire to destroy evidence.
6.50pm: Louise Hunt is murdered with a crossbow shortly before Hannah Hunt arrives at the property.
6.51pm: Hannah Hunt realises Clifford is at the address and shouts “What is wrong with you?”, with high-pitched squealing and screaming heard coming from the property.
6.52pm: Hannah Hunt messages her partner: “Call police leggy. Immediately. To mine. Now. Kyle here. POLCOE (sic) NOW. HE’S TYING US UP.”
6.54pm: Hannah Hunt is shot with a crossbow.
6.55pm: Clifford walks away from the property with the crossbow hidden under the sheet and the black rucksack.
6.57pm: Female heard in the property screaming “Oh my God, no” as Hannah Hunt realises her sister and mother have been attacked.
6.58pm: Hannah Hunt uses Carol Hunt’s phone to dial 999 and identifies Clifford as the attacker to the call handler.
7.10pm: Emergency services attend the Hunt family home – Carol and Louise Hunt are found dead and unsuccessful resuscitation attempts are made on Hannah Hunt.
