Bushey manhunt: Triple murder victims were family of BBC commentator – latest

Messages of condolence were posted on social media by figures from the racing world after BBC Five Live racing commentator John Hunt’s wife, Carol, and two of their daughters were killed.

ITV racing commentator Matt Chapman wrote in an entry on X, formerly Twitter: “No words needed for what has happened to HuntyCaller and family today.

“Impossible to comprehend the pain. Just know we are all here for you John. We love you pal – racing loves you.”

The Amateur Jockeys Association of Great Britain and Beverley Racecourse were among others sending their sympathies.

Neighbour Jill Philips, 70, said she was “shocked and horrified” to learn about the killings.

Ms Philips told The Independent: “Nothing like this has ever happened around here before.

“As neighbours, we are just shattered. We are shocked and horrified. I can’t imagine to think how their family are coping.”

As we reported earlier, the three women killed in a crossbow attack in Bushey, Hertfordshire, are Carol Hunt, the wife of BBC commentator John Hunt and two of their daughters.

The BBC confirmed that Mr Hunt’s wife and two daughters had died, in a post on the broadcaster’s news website. Mr Hunt is pictured below with his wife Carol.

Police have issued a direct plea to potentially armed triple murder suspect Kyle Clifford to “make contact” as the manhunt continues.

Clifford, from Enfield, north London, is wanted over the deaths of the women, aged 25, 28 and 61, who were found fatally injured in a house in Ashlyn Close, Bushey, just after 7pm on Tuesday.

Home secretary Yvette Cooper said she is being fully updated on the ongoing manhunt for 26-year-old Kyle Clifford.

Posting on X, she said: “The loss of three women’s lives in Bushey last night is truly shocking. My thoughts are with the family & friends of those who have been killed & with the community.

“I am being kept fully updated. I urge people to support @HertsPolice with any information about this case.”

The three women killed in Bushey on Tuesday are the wife and two daughters of BBC Five Live racing commentator John Hunt.

Three women – aged 25, 28 and 61 – were found with serious injuries after officers were called to a property on Tuesday evening, believed to be the home of Mr Hunt, who has a wife and three daughters.

Simon Powler, 49, a tennis coach who lives nearby to the scene in Bushey, said: “I got told to go inside because a man might be on the loose with a crossbow.”

Asked how he felt about the situation, he said: “I’m a realist about what goes on behind closed doors.

“It’s shocking though – I do boast about the fact that we live close enough to Watford to walk, and close to London. And while it’s really freaky and sad, we still live in a nice area.

“I don’t know what’s made that person tip over the edge.”

Hertfordshire police and crime commissioner Jonathan Ash-Edwards said: “My thoughts are with the family and friends of the women who have been shockingly killed in this terrible incident in Bushey.

“It will no doubt send shockwaves through the local community and across Hertfordshire.

“I am being kept updated by the police and I urge the public to support the police with any information about the whereabouts of the named suspect.”