A former soldier raped his ex-girlfriend “out of spite” 13 days after she dumped him during the triple murder of a BBC racing commentator’s family, a court has heard.
Kyle Clifford, 26, has admitted murdering 25-year-old Louise Hunt, along with her mother Carol Hunt, 61, and her sister Hannah Hunt, 28, at their family home in Bushey, Hertfordshire, on 9 July last year.
He has also admitted possession of the knife used to kill Mrs Hunt and the crossbow used to shoot her daughters, as well false imprisonment of Louise – who was tied up with duct tape – but denies rape.
Clifford had checked BBC racing commentator John Hunt, who has one surviving daughter Amy, was not at home before launching the four-hour attack, Cambridge Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said he “committed extreme acts of violence” against his former partner and her family members after Louise ended their 18-month relationship on 26 June.
Clifford had hidden relationships with two other women from her, and her friends and family had supported the break-up having described him as “disrespectful, rude and arrogant,” the court heard.
Jurors were told he started planning two days later, buying a length of rope, and later searched online for crossbows and airguns at the same time he was looking for a video of a Wandsworth prison officer engaged in sexual activity with an inmate.
Ms Morgan said it showed a “very clear indication of the violence intended through the use of weapons and his sexual preoccupation”.
Clifford bought duct tape, a crossbow, bolts and a cocking device, as well as a 10-inch butchery knife, which he had in his car when he drove from his home in Enfield, north London, to the Hunt family home on 9 July.
He knocked on the door just after 2.30pm, telling Mrs Hunt he was “just dropping off some of Louise’s stuff” in what was described as a “ruse” to get inside.
Clifford also had a “thank you” card addressed to Carol and John Hunt, which was later found unopened.
“Your family have shown me so much love and kindness and I’m so grateful for everything,” it said.
Audio captured by the doorbell camera captured a long female scream followed by a shorter scream, banging sounds and noise of a commotion, over the next three minutes as Clifford carried out a “brutal knife attack” on Mrs Hunt, the court heard.
He then returned to his car to get the crossbow, waiting for Louise Hunt, who was working in her garden dog grooming pod, for an hour.
The prosecutor said screams, male shouting and banging suggest she was “quickly in fear of what she saw” or “quickly restrained” as Clifford taped her ankles and hands behind her back and covered her mouth.
The court heard he checked her phone to see who she had been in contact with and what she had been looking at, using the device to message her father: “What time are you home?”
Mr Hunt replied: “Late, I’m afraid. Everything OK sweetness?”
A “loud whooshing noise” is heard on CCTV played to the jury as the crossbow is fired to kill Louise when her sister Hannah Hunt returns home from her job as a beautician hours later.
She went upstairs before realising Clifford was in the house, and raised voices can be heard.
Hannah says “Kyle, I swear to god” and he says “Calm down. Stop, stop, stop”, while there is another “whooshing sound” as a crossbow bolt is fired.
Hannah messaged her boyfriend asking him to call police and saying: “HE’S TYING US UP”.
She is heard to say: “Oh my god,” as she found her mother and sister.
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Hannah managed to call police while injured and was found collapsed in the doorway when emergency services arrived but died shortly after.
Ms Morgan said: “The prosecution’s case is that the defendant planned a terrible attack on Louise Hunt and her family, enraged by her rejection of him.
“That attack included an act of sexual violence, committed out of spite, when she was restrained and unable to escape him.”
Clifford drove to Enfield, where he lived, before going to a cemetery, where he was found the next day in a wooded area by armed police officers.
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He shot himself with the crossbow and was taken to hospital, where he was first interviewed in September, making comments including “sorry” and “what I have done is atrocious”.
Clifford, who now uses a wheelchair because he is paralysed from the waist down, has chosen not to attend his trial, while friends and family members of the victims, including Mr Hunt are in the public gallery.
His defence barrister Phil Bradley KC said Clifford’s case is that he last had consensual sex with Louise on 23 June – the day they returned from his friend’s wedding described as a “catalyst” for the break-up.
“The central issue for you to decide is whether the scientific findings can be explained by consensual sexual activity on 23 June or by rape on 9 July,” he told the jury.
But Ms Morgan told the jury the scientific evidence shows the explanation is “completely untenable”.
The trial continues on Wednesday.
