Kyle Clifford planned his attack after his ex, Louise Hunt, rejected him—now, the court hears chilling details.

Kyle Clifford’s rampage was the culmination of rage, obsession, and chilling premeditation. The 26-year-old former soldier meticulously planned his attack on ex-girlfriend Louise Hunt and her family, culminating in a bloodbath that left three women dead.

Clifford’s brutality unfolded in the Hunt family’s Bushey home on 9 July 2024. After deceiving Carol Hunt, 61, into letting him inside, he launched a vicious knife attack, silencing her within minutes. He then lay in wait for Louise, restraining and allegedly raping her in what prosecutors described as a “violent, sexual act of spite.” Her sister Hannah, 28, returned home from work, only to be bound and shot with a crossbow as she desperately messaged her partner, pleading for help.

The court heard that Clifford’s plan was set in motion two days after Louise ended their 18-month relationship. Enraged by her rejection and the family’s influence over her decision, he assembled an arsenal—duct tape, a crossbow, a butcher’s knife, and even petrol—intending to ensure their suffering.

Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC told jurors Clifford’s attack was calculated. He researched crossbows, monitored John Hunt’s racing schedule to confirm his absence, and even accessed pornography featuring a disgraced prison officer who had sex with an inmate—an insight into his disturbed state of mind.

Louise had confided in friends about Clifford’s temper, noting his arrogance and aggressive behaviour. After their split, she left a note in her phone documenting his racist and transphobic views, as well as his secret affairs. Her firm rejection, the court heard, was the trigger for his meticulously executed revenge.

Clifford, who served in the military for three years, fled the scene but was found the next day in a cemetery, paralysed from the chest down after a failed suicide attempt with his own crossbow. In hospital, he admitted to police that what he had done was “atrocious.”

Though he has pleaded guilty to the triple murder and false imprisonment, he denies raping Louise. His trial continues