A suspect wanted in connection with the triple killings of the wife and two daughters of a BBC journalist was found by British police Wednesday following a manhunt, reports CNN.
The search for Kyle Clifford, 26, began on Tuesday evening when police were called to a house in Bushey, Hertfordshire, where they found three seriously injured women.
Carol Hunt, 61, wife of BBC racing commentator John Hunt, and their daughters, Hannah Hunt, 28, and Louise Hunt, 25, later died from their wounds, according to statements Wednesday from police and Britain’s public broadcaster.
A crossbow is believed to have been used in the “targeted incident,” police said, adding that other weapons may also have been used.
Clifford, who police warned may have been armed with a crossbow, was found in Enfield, North London on Wednesday afternoon and is receiving treatment for injuries, Hertfordshire Police said in a statement.
“A man wanted in connection with a triple murder in Bushey has been traced to a location in North London. Following an extensive search, Kyle Clifford, aged 26, was found in the Enfield area by officers this afternoon (Wednesday, July 10),” the statement said.
“At this stage, we believe the suspect was known to the victims.”
Clifford left the British army in 2022 after a short period of service, a source in the British defence ministry told CNN. He joined the forces in 2019 and served in the Household Cavalry, his former military boss told CNN.
The killings sent shock waves through Britain, where mass murders are rare but violence against women has been labelled a national threat by the government.
A woman is killed by a man every three days in the United Kingdom and one in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime, the United Nations’ special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, said earlier this year.
“Entrenched patriarchy at almost every level of society, combined with a rise in misogyny that permeates the physical and online world, is denying thousands of women and girls across the UK the right to live in safety, free from fear and violence,” Alsalem said in February.