I’m scared I’m going to die ... 000 call from crossbow horror murder victim

The daughter of a BBC sports commentator told police she ‘feared she was going to die’ after being shot with a crossbow, a court has been told.

Hannah Hunt managed to dial 999, telling an operator that an intruder had wounded her in the chest, stabbed her mother Carol, 61, and tied up her sister Louise, 25, before shooting her too.

The 28-year-old, the daughter of racing commentator John Hunt, made two desperate emergency calls for help but they were cut off, the court was told.

Police and paramedics raced to the family home in Bushey, Hertfordshire, after receiving the calls on July 9 but were unable to save the mother and her daughters.

Kyle Clifford, 26, has appeared in court for the first time after being charged with three counts of murder, false imprisonment and two counts of possessing offensive weapons – a crossbow and a ten-inch butcher’s knife.

David Burns, prosecuting, told Westminster magistrates’ court: “Police were called to the property by Hannah Hunt.

“She stated the intruder was on the property. He had shot her, her mother and her sister and she feared she was going to die.

“The phone call then cut off. She managed to re-establish the connection and called an ambulance. The phone call cut off again.”

Mr Burns added: “Police found Hannah Hunt lying in the doorway.

“She had been shot with a crossbow in the chest. They found Louise tied up and she had also been shot with a crossbow.

“They found their mother Carol who had been stabbed with a knife and suffered multiple injuries.

“All three were treated at the scene but all three passed away.”

After a nationwide manhunt, Clifford was arrested the next day in a cemetery in Enfield, north London.

He was not charged until Tuesday because officers were unable to interview him while he received hospital treatment for an injury that had left him in a wheelchair.

The defendant appeared in court via video link from Kempston custody suite in Bedfordshire.

He instructed a police officer to inform court officials that he was suffering from a throat injury which made it difficult for him to speak.

Clifford, from Enfield, did not speak during the hearing but nodded when asked to confirm his name and whether he had understood proceedings.

No pleas were entered to the charges and he was remanded in custody.

At a second hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Justice Johnston said a plea hearing would take place in late November or early December.