A man accused of murdering a racing commentator’s wife and two daughters has been further charged with rape.
Kyle Clifford, 26, was previously accused of fatally shooting Louise and Hannah Hunt with a crossbow and stabbing Carol Hunt, the wife of John Hunt, to death at their home in Bushey, Hertfordshire, on 9 July.
Clifford pleaded not guilty to the three murders today.
He is also charged with two counts of possession of an offensive weapon – one a 10-inch butcher’s knife and the other a compound crossbow.
Clifford, of Enfield, north London, also faces a charge of false imprisonment.
He was further charged with rape at a plea hearing at Cambridge Crown Court this afternoon.
The defendant, who appeared via video link from HMP Belmarsh, entered not guilty pleas to all charges except the new count of rape, for which he is not yet required to enter a plea.
A memorial service was held in Bushey for Mrs Hunt and her daughters Louise and Hannah a few days after their deaths, with friends saying they were “together in grief”.
Mr Hunt, a Sky Sports and BBC racing commentator, said the devastation he and his surviving daughter Amy feel “cannot be put into words”.
Colleagues of Hannah Hunt paid tribute to the “fantastic therapist”, while a friend of Louise Hunt described her as “one of the loveliest girls” who “always had a smile and was very positive and hardworking”.