A man admits to murdering a mother and two daughters in a crossbow attack near London

LONDON — On Wednesday, the 26-year-old pleaded guilty murder of a mother and her two daughters last year in an attack with a crossbow and a knife at their family home north of London.

Prosecutors said Kyle Clifford killed his 25-year-old ex-girlfriend Louise Hunt and her 28-year-old sister Hannah Hunt with a crossbow, then on July 9 stabbed their mother, 61-year-old Carol Hunt.

Appearing via video link at Cambridge Crown Court, Clifford pleaded guilty to three counts of murder, one count of false imprisonment and two counts of possessing an offensive weapon – a crossbow and a 10-inch knife. He pleaded not guilty to the charge of raping Louise Hunt.

Three women, part of the family of well-known BBC radio racing commentator John Hunt, were found with serious injuries at their home in the quiet residential area of ​​Bushey, north-east of the capital. Police and an ambulance crew tried to save the three women, but they were pronounced dead at the scene.

Police launched a manhunt for the suspect before he was found injured in a cemetery in Enfield, north London. Clifford, who had been in the military for about three years as of 2019, shot himself in the chest with a crossbow.

Following the attacks, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stated that she was urgently considering whether stricter crossbow regulations were needed, but no proposals had yet been put forward.

People in the UK do not need a license to own a crossbow, but carrying one in public without good reason is illegal.

These weapons have been used in several high-profile crimes in recent years.

In December 2021, a would-be attacker with a loaded crossbow broke into Windsor Castle, intending to kill Queen Elizabeth II. Jaswant Singh Chail He pleaded guilty to the charge of high treason and was sentenced last year to nine years in prison.