Crossbow victim Louise Hunt dumped killer boyfriend Kyle Clifford just a week before he murdered her after growing sick of his controlling behaviour, MailOnline can reveal.
Louise, 25, took the brave decision after former soldier Clifford ‘imposed himself’ on her life including banning her from wearing make-up, seeing male friends and staying out late without him.
Friends say she terminated their six-month relationship after finally tiring of him ridiculing her and telling her what to do.
Her last post on social media platform X – sent just six days before she was murdered – was a retweeted message which hailed those who decided to leave abusive and controlling partners.
The message read: ‘I admire women who leave whether you left after the 1st time or the 12th time.’
The post – sent on July 3 last year – continued: ‘If ppl was calling you dumb for 11 years but in the 12th year you decided you was done…it takes ALOT of strength to break a tie. it takes ALOT of self love to choose yo self.’
Louise and older sister Hannah Hunt, 28, were shot dead by a crossbow bolt fired by 26-year-old Clifford, who also stabbed their mother, Carol, 61, to death with a butcher’s knife.
He had turned up to their suburban home in Bushey, Hertfordshire, on July 9 to collect some of his belongings following the split with Louise.
Kyle Clifford (pictured) was dumped by his girlfried just a week before he murdered her after growing sick of his controlling behaviour
Louise Hunt (pictured), who was formerly in a relationship with Clifford, was killed alongside her mother and sister in the crossbow attack in Bushey
Brave Hannah Hunt called 999 during the attacks and was still alive when police arrived at the home in Bushey, but later died from her wounds
John Hunt is pictured with his wife Carol, who was killed alongside two of their two daughters
The three women were the wife and daughters of BBC racing commentator John Hunt.
A family friend said that tragic Carol told friends at her local gym that her youngest daughter was involved in a ‘messy’ break up with her boyfriend
She confided with a friend as she worked out at the Bushey Grove Leisure Centre, a five-minute walk from the family home.
The friend said: ‘She said her daughter’s split with her boyfriend was messy.
‘Carol did not go into too much detail, but you could see she was concerned.’
Despite her courageous decision to leave Clifford, dog groomer Louise was still left devastated and the stress of the break-up is understood to have caused her to crash her car near her family home.
Neighbour Glyn Nicholas, 77, said that Louise appeared ‘very upset’ following what he understood to be ‘a very bad break-up’ the week before.
He said: ‘Louise was a very nice girl. She ran a dog grooming business from the house. I heard that she split from her boyfriend and was very upset about it. So much so that she was driving home at some point and drove into a wooden telegraph pole not far from the house. The car door had apparently caved in because of the crash.’
But friends of the Hunts claimed to have noticed signs of problems during Clifford’s relationship with Louise, reported The Times.
Abdul Morsi, Hannah’s best friend, told the paper: ‘He was controlling. He did not like her going out with guy mates.
‘He was continuingly calling her asking: “When are you going to be home?”
‘They did not live together but he wanted control. He just had this controlling attitude.’
Neighbours described Clifford as ‘placid, very reserved’ when he was a child.
His brother Bradley was the first of the pair to kill and is serving a life sentence for murdering Soban Khan, 18, in a fit of rage about damage to his prized car.
And initially it seemed Bradley was the only bad one in the family.
One neighbour said: ‘He was never one to be loud … or get rowdy. Of the three brothers, he was the last one you’d expect to cause any trouble.”
Another said: “His brother Bradley was moody and disrespectful to his grandmother. After he got his job and started working, he got into drugs.”
But one woman told how she was forced to cut ties with the whole family as she became afraid of Kyle too.
MailOnline revealed yesterday how Clifford was filled with jealous rage, controlling every aspect of Louise’s life before the savage triple murder.
He was filled with fury after the relationship ended and turned up to the family home with a crossbow and 10-inch knife on the pretence of retrieving some of his property he had left there.
He stabbed Carol in the back, chest and legs. Louise had her arms and ankles bound with duct tape and she had been fatally shot by a crossbow.
Hannah too had been shot with a crossbow bolt but was able to make a harrowing 999 call to police before she died alongside her sister and mother.
A family friend told MailOnline how Clifford tried to appear loving but in reality ‘often mocked her throughout their turbulent six-month relationship.
They said that Clifford – who dropped out of the Queen’s Dragoon Guards after three years – had become increasingly fearful that Louise was going to end their relationship.
The friend said that Clifford was at a low ebb at the time of her murder after suddenly leaving his job at a local food supplier.
The source, who asked not to be named, said: ‘Kyle was controlling and used to ridicule Louise. In public he made himself out to be a nice guy, but in private he was anything but.
Police on Ashlyn Close in Bushey, Hertfordshire, on July 10, 2024 – the day after the murder
Police search Lavender Hill Cemetery in Enfield, North London, on the afternoon of July 10
Mourners attend a service at St James’s Church in Bushey on July 11 following the incident
‘There hadn’t been any previous incidents of violence towards Louise – nothing that we knew about anyway – but he imposed himself on her.
‘It was certain things, like Louise used to like wearing make-up but then she stopped wearing make-up – and that was down to Kyle.
‘Louise had become tired of the relationship and being controlled all the time and being told what to do.’
The friend said that Louise invited Clifford to a family party last April, adding: ‘She had introduced him to her parents, they are lovely, lovely people and they would have wanted to take him into their family.
‘But there were red flags. And when Louise split with Kyle I think they were very relieved.
‘What happened is incomprehensible, it’s awful. They were such an incredibly lovely, friendly family. It’s completely devastated the community.’
Abdul Morsli, 28, who was best friends with Hannah Hunt, believed Louise started seeing Clifford around Christmas 2023 and said: ‘She was in love with him. They’d been together for just under a year, I think.
‘Hannah was convinced that they’d get married one day… but there were issues with his controlling behaviour.
A court artist’s sketch of Kyle Clifford appearing via videolink at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on September 17
‘I think Louise tried to keep it under wraps but I know he didn’t like her staying out too late – even though they didn’t live together – and he really didn’t like her having male friends.’
Fighting back tears, he told how Carol and John took him in five years ago when he needed somewhere to stay.
He said: ‘I lived with them for about three or four months when I was going through a few things and needed help.
‘They invited me into their home without hesitation.
‘Carol treated me like her own son, she used to make me a meal every night and John invited me to Royal Ascot two years ago.
‘I’ve known Hannah since I was 13 and we were at school together. She was so lovely, genuinely an amazing person.
‘She was from a beautiful family. They were so generous and welcoming. I can’t describe how wonderful they are.’
The triple murder sparked a nationwide hunt for Clifford, who was caught by police the following day with ‘self-inflicted injuries’ in a cemetery near his home in Enfield, North London.
After changing his plea today, Clifford now faces a life sentence – something his brother Bradley is already serving for mowing down and murdering a teenage moped rider in anger after his ‘prized’ Ford Mustang was damaged.
Appearing via video link at Cambridge Crown Court on Wednesday, Clifford pleaded guilty to three counts of murder, one of false imprisonment against Louise Hunt, and two counts of possession of offensive weapons – the crossbow and the knife.
He pleaded not guilty to a charge of raping Louise.
