.png)
Killer in the family podcast
A true crime podcast exploring men who kill their families.
Killer in the family podcast
Episode 61 - UPDATE - Carol, Hannah and Louise Hunt
In July 2024, just last year, Carol Hunt was at her home in Bushey near Watford with two of her three daughters – Hannah aged 28 years old and Louise aged 25 years old. Kyle Clifford – Louise’ ex-boyfriend came to the house and murdered all three women. A violent man with a history of control, he was convicted of the murders in January this year and has just been convicted of raping Louise as well. Clifford will spend the rest of his life in prison for the horrific destruction of nearly a whole family.
This is the update episode for Carol, Hannah and Louise Hunt.
Information and support
· Samaritans UK Contact Us | Samaritans
· National Domestic Violence Helpline UK 0808 2000 247
· Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse (AAFDA) Home - AAFDA
· Women’s Aid Home - Women's Aid
· National Domestic Abuse Helpline UK 0808 2000 247
· Mental health support USA Mental Health America | Homepage | Mental Health America
· Domestic abuse helpline USA 1.800.799.SAFE Domestic Violence Support | National Domestic Violence Hotline
References
Killer in the family episode 56 on Carol, Hannah and Louise Hunt
https://open.spotify.com/episode/12MQvoVqtwgSgkPkkZwuut?si=mmx1IGGGQL6ZuTKgRReP3w
Talks with Dr Shafer podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/when-home-isnt-safe-identifying-risks-for-femicide/id1723838159?i=1000698691511
Crossbow killer Kyle Clifford to be sentenced for triple murder - BBC News
Kyle Clifford's calculated murder plot from posing as sister to twisted mum deceit
Killer in the family podcast is a total labour of love. If you'd like to support me please buy me a coffee or tea!
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/clarelaxton
Hi there and welcome to Killer in the Family podcast. I'm your host, claire Laxton. Welcome to episode 61 of the pod and apologies for not getting you this episode. Last week I had totally lost my voice and I think you can tell I'm still a little bit croaky, so I thought no episode was better than one where you had to listen to me cough. And before we get into this episode, I just wanted to let you know that an interview that I did for a brilliant podcast called Talks with Dr Schaefer was published last week. We talked about all things killer in the family, my research, coercive control and domestic abuse so I'll put the link in the episode notes and do check it out if you're interested.
Speaker 1:Now this episode is something a little bit different and is actually an update episode for you this week, the first one we've ever done. I think Listeners in the UK and Ireland might have seen the news over the past couple of weeks that Kyle Clifford was found guilty of raping his ex-girlfriend Louise, as well as killing her and her family. He was sentenced for all his crimes last week, so I wanted to do an update episode outlining what happened and also what else we know about the murders. This is the update episode for Carol Hannah and Louise Hunt. This is going to be a really tough listen team. Not only did the murders happen so recently, but the conclusion of the court case in the last couple of weeks means that we know even more about that fateful day in July last year when Clifford killed Carol Hannah and Louise Hunt. If you haven't already, I would go back and listen to episode 56 about Carol Hannah and Louise to hear about them and their family. And before we start, I wanted to say that I'm doing this update episode to not only highlight the dangers of coercive control, but also of the awful misogynistic online content that it turned out Clifford accessed before killing three women. These dangers have to be understood if we're ever to prevent the murders of more women.
Speaker 1:So let's start by talking about Carol Hannah and Louise. So, if you remember from episode 56, carol was 61 years old when she was killed by Kyle Clifford and she lived in Bushy near Watford in the south of England. She worked in a school and was a very loving mother, wife and friend. She was married to a guy called John Hunt, who is a horse racing commentator and has worked for companies such as the BBC. It's clear from all the tributes that Carol and John had a really happy marriage and family and they went on to have three daughters. Hannah Hunt was 28 years old when she was murdered. She worked as a beautician in a nearby village and in a Guardian article the salon she worked with paid tribute to Hannah saying, quote she was a fantastic therapist and clients loved her. We send our condolences and prayers to her dad, sister and family. She was very much part of our team and prayers to her dad, sister and family. She was very much part of our team and Hannah also had a boyfriend as well who she was in a very loving relationship with.
Speaker 1:There was Louise Hunt, who was 25 years old when she was murdered. She'd actually started a business as a dog groomer and had been described as a lovely young girl. She ran her dog grooming business from like a pod in the garden in her family home and obviously had a love for dogs as well as her friends and family. Carol and John's third daughter is Amy. Now I couldn't find out lots about her, but she will be grieving and trying to live with the trauma of what they've experienced alongside her dad. So I didn't want to dig and like, invade her privacy and sort of try and find out loads about her. So in 2024, the Hunt family were a nice, close knit family. They lived in a normal family house in Bushy on a normal suburban street you think of when you think of suburban life street. You think of when you think of suburban life.
Speaker 1:In late sort of 2022 or early 2023, youngest daughter, louise Hunt, matched with a man on the dating app Bumble. Kyle Clifford was a former soldier from Enfield in North London and the two began a relationship. And it wasn't long into this relationship before Louise's family and friends started noticing a difference in her and were questioning her relationship with Clifford. In episode 56, we talked about how Clifford would ridicule Louise in public and also stopped her wearing makeup. Friends noticed that Louise was dressing more conservatively and also stopped her wearing makeup. Friends noticed that Louise was dressing more conservatively and also starting to cut ties with some of her male friends. Now these are classic signs of coercive control and a perpetrator who is trying to control their partner. Now we can reveal more details about their relationship and his behaviour towards her.
Speaker 1:Apparently, not only did Clifford like to humiliate Louise in public, he also enjoyed playing online videos that shocked in public as well. So when he and Louise hosted a party, once, he began playing online content by Andrew Tate, a renowned misogynist who glorifies violence against women. Tate was actually arrested with his brother in Romania for sex trafficking offences, but was recently extradited to the US by President Trump. His online content often reaches the phones of children, young people, and his hateful speech against women is honestly just horrific and abhorrent. And as if this wasn't bad enough, clifford also played videos to Louise's friends that were clips of animals being harmed, which he thought was like really funny. Now, remember that Louise was a dog groomer, so she absolutely loved animals, and I wondered if he played these videos in like an attempt to humiliate her further and also show how much control he had over her.
Speaker 1:There was also a road rage incident at which Clifford may have used physical violence, which probably really scared Louise. Apparently, he has said that he doesn't have a problem with physical violence, which is also a major red flag here. Now, this might not be a surprise, considering that his older brother, bradley, is also currently serving time in prison for murder. In a road rage incident, bradley killed a young man. He thought he had hit his car. He just beat him to death. Another red flag for Louise, her family and friends was that Clifford visited his brother in prison every single week. Maybe that showed them that he didn't really see anything wrong with what he did.
Speaker 1:Now, considering how possessive and controlling over Louise Clifford was, it might surprise you or not, to be honest that he was cheating on her throughout their relationship. He was apparently regularly seeing and sleeping with two other women, one of whom thought that she was his girlfriend and neither of whom knew about the other, or Louise. I mean not that this needs saying saying, but what an absolute piece of crap. And apparently the final straw in the 18-month relationship came for Louise when they were at a friend's wedding in Scarborough and Clifford implied that he cheated on her, which he absolutely had. She told Clifford that the relationship was sucking the life out of her and on the 26th of June 2024, she broke up with him.
Speaker 1:Although to the outside world, clifford was trying to brush off the breakup with Louise, inside he was fuming like any coercive controlling perpetrator is. He also thought that Louise's family had conspired to convince her to break up with him, and it was at this point that he started planning his horrific crimes, just two days after the breakup, on the 28th of June, clifford went to his local tool station in Enfield and bought a length of rope. Five days later, according to Yahoo News, he bought quote a horizon comet mxt405 compound crossbow, a pack of six carbon crossbow bolts, an Excalibur rope cocking device. He also ordered a Glock air pistol, but this wasn't delivered by the time that he had killed three women. Now, a couple of days after that, he bought two cans of petrol and rolls of duct tape from his local, and during this time, clifford's dog died in mysterious circumstances and he posted about it online, and this elicited a response from Louise, who was a dog lover, sending her sympathies. I have no doubt that this was a calculated move from Clifford to have contact with Louise and also to gain her sympathy gain her sympathy. At this point. It was said that Clifford considered therapy and maybe seeking help, and he even wrote that he could try and be a better man, but actually that he wasn't going to.
Speaker 1:Now, 24 hours before he planned to kill Louise and her family, it has been revealed that he was searching for Andrew Tate podcasts and videos. Currently, he watched as many as 10 of them in the 24 hours leading up to the murders. He also searched for pornography and watched a video of a prison officer having sex with an inmate and during the court case, prosecutor Alison Morgan Casey said of his online searches quote that's what he was searching less than 24 hours before he was trying to get into the Hunt family home. He was searching for an Andrew Tate podcast. It's misogynistic trying to control Louise Hunt in the context of a final act of spite. You can see how the mind was working. She continued to outline how Clifford was quote searching for crossbows one minute and then looking at sexualised content the next. It's how he views women and why sexualised violence is an important part of the attack. Relationships are part of the story, but it really does come to a head through that search. As someone who sees the world through that viewpoint and I think this is really important to remember that this was the type of content that he was consuming in the days and the hours before he killed three women.
Speaker 1:We now know lots more about what happened on the 9th of July 2024 when Clifford killed Carol, hannah and Louise. This is going to be a really tough lesson. So on that afternoon, armed with his crossbow rope, duct tape and knife. Clifford drove to the Hunt's house in Bushy. Tape and knife. Clifford drove to the Hunt's house in Bushy. He parked and he did an internet search for horse racing today, presumably to find out where John Hunt was and if he was working that day, which he was Now. Around 2.30 that afternoon he knocked on the door of the Hunt's house and Carol answered. They spoke for a few minutes on the doorstep with Clifford telling Carol that he was seeking help and trying to be a better person. She was encouraging and sympathised with him as any compassionate person would. He said that he came to collect some of his things and Carol let him inside the house. Clifford immediately stabbed Carol and left her to die in the hallway. He then left the house and went out to his car to get his crossbow and then basically lay in wait in the house.
Speaker 1:Now, remember that Louise's dog room and business was in a garden pod of the family home. So while this was happening inside she was greeting customers and dogs who were coming down an alleyway sort of next to the house, completely unbeknownst to what was happening inside. Around four o'clock Louise comes into the house having finished work for that day. She is immediately captured by Clifford, who restrains her using duct tape, and she is apparently also gagged. Three hours later, clifford kills Louise with a crossbow bolt. So she had three hours with him, restrained and probably absolutely terrified it is believed to be at this point which he raped and sexually assaulted her, enacting his total control over her. Now Hannah gets home from work around seven o'clock and immediately sees that Clifford is in the house. She manages to text her boyfriend asking him to call 999, but she is shot by a crossbow bolt as well. Hannah calls 999 before she dies and Clifford leaves the house. Now, this horrific attack by Clifford is nothing but unbelievably violent and cruel. I cannot imagine how scared Louise was in those hours. She was left alone with him and I have no doubt that that's exactly what he wanted. Now, as you remember, clifford was found the next day after a huge police search in a cemetery in Enfield and, surrounded by police, he shot himself in the chest with a crossbow bolt, presumably to try and take his own life, but he was still alive and was taken to hospital and had time to recover from his injuries before he was arrested, interviewed and stood trial. Clifford is now paralysed from the waist down because of that self-inflicted crossbow bolt.
Speaker 1:Now, as we talked about in episode 56, at the end of January this year, clifford pled guilty to three counts of murder, one count of false imprisonment and two counts of possession of offensive weapons. Imprisonment and two counts of possession of offensive weapons. And on the 6th of March, just a couple of weeks ago, it took a jury just 45 minutes to convict Clifford of rape. Now, convicted of murder and rape, clifford was sentenced for all his crimes last week, on Tuesday, the 11th of March. On Tuesday 11th March, in Court 1 of Cambridge Crown Court, the judge, mr Justice Benetton, oversaw proceedings which not only saw the sentence passed down to Clifford but also heard victim impact statements from John and Amy Hunt. Clifford did not turn up to court, which is very unusual for a defendant, and the judge said that he lacked the courage to attend, and I think that's putting it mildly.
Speaker 1:To be honest, during sentencing, john Hunt, carol's husband and Hannah and Louise's father delivered a victim impact statement. According to the BBC, he described Clifford as, quote callous, cowardly and vindictive. He talked about how proud of his girls he was and how Carol was such a wonderful wife and kind person. He said how, if Hannah hadn't raised the alarm when she did that. He might have been the fourth victim that day. As he got home, he said, quote I really believe that had she not managed to show such amazing physical and mental strength, then I would have been your fourth victim.
Speaker 1:That day, hannah handed me a second chance, one that she worked so hard to achieve for me. Do you really think, after what she did for me, I will slight her memory and example by just giving up? He wanted Louise's bravery to be a beacon for other women and for them to be inspired by her strength. He said, quote I hope women round the world will take Louise's bravery as a shining beacon for their lives. If you feel enough is enough, then it is. He finished his victim impact statement so powerfully by saying, quote Kyle, just remember one thing Whatever sentence you are about to receive, whatever misery lies ahead for you, remember on your dying day there will be no release for you, kyle. The screams of hell, kyle, I can hear them now. They're going to roll out the red carpet for you. You will realize your miserable fate will last for eternity. I mean, what hugely powerful words there from john. Just talk and sort of directly addressing Clifford as well and saying that hell is rolling out the red carpet for him. You know like such bravery and such power there in those words.
Speaker 1:Amy Hunt then delivered her victim impact statement to to the quiet courtroom and during her statement the BBC reported that police officers and others like openly wept. She paid tribute to her mum and sisters. Quote my mum, louise and Hannah represented and represent still everything good in this world and were genuinely adored by everyone who had the luck of meeting and knowing them. Through tears, she addressed Clifford and said, quote it is clear to everyone now that you hate women, kyle. It is even more clear that you can't stand being confronted by a strong woman like Louise. You must never have been able to experience the emotion of love. Because of that, it is you that truly lost, kyle, because love is the only thing that matters. Again, hugely powerful, powerful and you know such understanding. Impact statement there, seeing Clifford for what he is a hater of women.
Speaker 1:Now Clifford was sentenced to a whole life order, which is life imprisonment without any possibility of parole or conditional release. He was handing concurrent sentences for the below crimes against Louise as well, for the below crimes against Louise as well 20 years for the rape of Louise eight years for falsely imprisoning her one year for possession of offensive weapon and another year for possession of an offensive weapon, which was the knife. In his summing up remarks, mr Justice Benetton described Clifford as quote a jealous man soaked in self-pity who holds women in utter contempt, and I couldn't have put it better myself. The horrific actions of Clifford continue to raise questions about the impact of online misogynistic content and how that impacts on offline violence against women. Baroness Nicky Morgan, who's a former minister, said on the Radio 4 Today programme that the case proved that quote so-called legal content can absolutely be deeply, deeply harmful to others. In a statement from the Prime Minister's spokesperson, he said that platforms will be required to remove illegal content, and that would include content that often targets women and girls, while this would include extreme misogynistic content like the stuff Clifford watched. I don't think that goes far enough, and I truly hope that this case and others means that we as a society take a strong and powerful stand against the dangerous online misogynistic content and take seriously the dangers of coercive control.
Speaker 1:This episode is dedicated to Carol Hannah and Louise Hunt, to the joy they brought their family and friends and to who they were in life. It is also dedicated to their remaining family, whose devastation cannot be overestimated. Let's finish by honouring John and Amy's request at Clifford Sentencing last week that Carol, hannah and Louise be remembered for who they are and not what Clifford did to them, and that is how we will remember them. This has been Killer in the Family podcast written and produced by me, claire Laxton. I'll be back next week with a new episode. Don't forget to send me any comments or questions to my insta at killerinthefamilypod or through a text via a link in the episode notes. Do let me know any stories you'd like me to cover as well, and don't forget that you can buy me a coffee if you like the podcast and help support it's running. The link is in the episode notes and thanks so much to everyone for your support so far. Until then, I've been Claire Laxton. This is Killer in no-transcript.
