The middle daughter of BBC racing commentator John Hunt was still alive with a crossbow bolt in her chest when police arrived to find her fatally injured at her home, an inquest heard today.
Hannah Hunt, 28, called 999 to tell emergency services she, along with her younger sister Louise, 25, and mother Carol, 61, had been shot at their home in Bushey, Hertfordshire on July 9.
She informed the call handler of ‘the name of the person responsible’, told them their address at Ashlyn Close and requested an ambulance before the phone line cut out, Hertfordshire Coroner’s Court heard.
Hertfordshire Police had already been informed of the incident by the Metropolitan Police force, after an unnamed member of the public alerted them as Hannah had sent them a text saying she had been ‘tied up’, coroner Geoffrey Sullivan heard.
When police arrived at the home, Hannah was found ‘alive in the main doorway of the house’ with a crossbow bolt in her chest. Meanwhile Carol and Louise were found in the ‘adjacent room’ with injuries and pronounced dead on arrival, the court heard.
Following a huge manhunt, Louise’s ex-boyfriend Kyle Clifford, 26, was arrested on suspicion of three counts of murder. Police, however, have not been able to question the triple murder suspect as he remains in hospital with self-inflicted wounds.
The women’s bodies were identified Princess Alexandra Hospital. A postmortem found that Carol died from stab wounds to her chest and abdomen. The two daughters died from a crossbow bolt injury to the chest, the inquest heard.
Senior coroner Mr Sullivan adjourned the brief 10-minute hearing on Tuesday to allow for any criminal proceeding to take place.
Carol Hunt, pictured right, was the wife of BBC Radio Five Live racing commentator John Hunt, left. Carol and her two daughters, Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25, were found fatally injured at the house in Ashlyn Close, Bushey, on July 9
Louise Hunt, pictured, was killed alongside her mother Carol and sister Hannah
Hannah Hunt, pictured, was also killed at the family’s home in Bushey, Hertfordshire
Investigators will wait for medical staff to confirm that Kyle Clifford is well enough to be spoken to before they can quiz him
It comes as Hertfordshire Police confirmed this morning that there were no updates in the case as Clifford continues to receive treatment in hospital while under arrest.
Investigators will have to wait until medical staff decide the triple murder suspect is well enough to be probed.
A huge manhunt was launched on July 9 for Clifford after the three women’s bodies were found in their home on Ashlyn Close.
He was found just under 24 hours later with what were believed to be self-inflicted injuries in Lavender Hills cemetery near the Hilly Fields area of Enfield, north London – near to where he is from.
The former soldier and security guard was rushed to hospital after allegedly shooting himself with a crossbow bolt.
The time limit on how long officers have to grill Clifford will only start ticking down once they formally begin to question him.
Ever since the tragic deaths of the three women, tributes and messages of support have flooded in for Mr Hunt and his oldest, and only remaining daughter Amy.
Paying tribute to the three victims, Mr Hunt and Amy previously said: ‘The devastation that we are experiencing cannot be put into words.
‘We would like to thank people for their kind messages and for the support we have received in recent days. These have provided great comfort to us for which we are very grateful.
‘As you can imagine, this is an extremely difficult time for us, and we need time and space to come to terms with what has happened and start the grieving process.
‘While this is happening, we would ask that our privacy and that of our wider family and relations be respected at this time. Thank you.’
Friends and relatives left floral tributes near the home where the three women were killed
In a further statement read to Sky Sports Racing viewers by his colleague Matt Chapman, Mr Hunt paid tribute to his ‘magnificently inspirational’ surviving daughter.
He said: ‘Notwithstanding the horrid evil that’s swept through our lives, wreaking devastation on an unimaginable scale, the counter to that has been the breathtaking messages of support, some of which are still to be read.
‘Amy, my eldest daughter, has been magnificently inspirational with her control and support for me, which I am trying, trying so hard, to replicate.
‘Every message has felt so important, the same as a reassuring hug. We know people are worried about us. We will get through this.’
Mr Chapman added that a fundraiser set up for Mr Hunt and his family – which has raised over £100,000 – will go to Amy.
Pictures of the victims were included amid floral tributes left at the scene of the killings
Clifford was found with serious injuries at Lavender Hill Cemetery in Enfield, north London. Pictured is an armed police officer on patrol in the cemetery on Wednesday, July 10
At a vigil held for the Hunt family by friends and loved ones at St James’ Church in Bushey more tributes were paid to the three women.
Lea Holloway, 60, a childhood friend of Carol Hunt, described her as a ‘beautiful person’.
She said: ‘This is the stuff nightmares are made of. They were a lovely family and (the daughters) were lovely girls.
‘They were making their way through life and their lives have been taken too soon. It’s the thing of nightmares. I feel for their eldest daughter and John (Hunt). I can’t imagine what it would be like.’
After being joined by two other close friends, Dionne Smith, 58, and Abigail Phillips, 58, the trio told reporters: ‘We were a four, and now there’s only three. It doesn’t seem real. We are together in grief.’
Detective Superintendent Rob Hall, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire major crime unit, said at the time: ‘Our thoughts remain with the victims’ family at this tragic time.
‘The investigation is moving at pace and as a result, we have now arrested a man. Inquiries are continuing at this time.’
