British police search for man after BBC commentator’s wife and daughters killed

LONDON — British police launched a massive manhunt Wednesday for a man believed to be armed with a crossbow and possibly other weapons after three women were killed in a house northwest of London. The BBC said the women killed were the family of well-known radio racing commentator John Hunt.

Hertfordshire Police said 26-year-old Kyle Clifford was wanted over the suspected triple murder, which involved a crossbow and possibly other unspecified weapons. The public was asked not to approach Clifford if they saw him.

Armed police and specialized search teams “responded rapidly to this horrific incident,” said Police Commissioner Jon Simpson.

The three women, aged 25, 28 and 61, were found seriously injured in a house in Bushey, north-west London, on Tuesday evening, police said. Police and emergency services tried to save them, but they were pronounced dead at the scene.

BBC Radio 5 Live, the corporation’s main news and sports channel, said the victims were Carol Hunt, the wife of commentator John Hunt, and two of their daughters.

John Hunt is BBC radio’s premier horse racing commentator; his voice is known to millions through his coverage of the world-famous Grand National and The Derby.

The Daily Mail and other media reported that he found the bodies early Tuesday evening when he returned home from a report at Lingfield Park racecourse in south London.

In a statement to BBC staff, the broadcaster described the incident as “utterly devastating” and said it would “support Hunt with all its might”.

Police did not say whether Clifford, who is from London, was connected to the women, but British media reported that he was the ex-boyfriend of one of the daughters. The BBC reported that Clifford left the British Army after a brief stint in 2022.

Nearby councillor Laurence Brass said the area was “a typical green British suburb”.

“Last night at around eight o’clock I was watching football on TV when suddenly a helicopter landed on the lawn outside my flat at the end of this road. Then my phone rang and I was told that there had been a serious incident here in Bushey and that we should all stay away because someone was apparently on the run,” he told the BBC.

Simpson addressed the suspect directly and said, “Kyle, if you see or hear this, please contact the police.”

Britain’s new Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said she would be “fully informed” of the “truly shocking” incident.

In the UK, no license is required to own a crossbow. However, it is illegal to carry a crossbow in public without a valid reason.

A Home Office spokesman said Cooper would “expeditiously review” the results of a recent inquiry into whether further controls on crossbows should be introduced.