‘The message was very clear: make the most of every day because you just don't know.’
BBC racing commentator John Hunt has urged people to ‘make the most of every day’ after his wife and two of his daughters were killed in a crossbow attack.
Carol Hunt, 61 along with daughters, Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25, were found fatally injured at their Hertfordshire home in Bushey on Tuesday.
Kyle Clifford, 26, was arrested on suspicion of their murders after he was found with injuries in the Hilly Fields area of Enfield, north London a day later.
On Saturday the BBC 5 Live commentator and Sky Sports Racing presenter, along with his third daughter Amy Hunt, said in a statement ‘the devastation we are experiencing cannot be put into words’.
A GoFundMe page has been set up with the aim of raising £50,000 to support the Hunt family.
His friend and fellow broadcaster Matt Chapman, who helped organise the fundraiser, said Mr Hunt’s ‘biggest desire’ was to ensure his surviving daughter has ‘no money worries for the rest of her life’.
Mr Chapman, an ITV commentator, said he has been in regular contact with his ‘very talented’ colleague and friend.
Speaking to the BBC, he said: ‘He told me “Matty, the message I would tell everyone is you never know when it’s going to be the last day you see your family”.
‘The message was very clear: make the most of every day because you just don’t know.’
Mr Chapman described how Mr Hunt would often be at home when he would call for a chat and that ‘you could feel that family life in the background’.
In a statement read to Sky Sports Racing viewers by Mr Chapman at the weekend, Mr Hunt said: ‘Notwithstanding the horrid evil that’s swept through our lives, reeking devastation on an unimaginable scale, the counter to that has been the breathtaking messages of support, some of which are still to be read.
‘Amy, my eldest daughter, has been magnificently inspirational with her control and support for me, which I am trying, trying so hard, to replicate.
‘Every message has felt so important, the same as a reassuring hug.
‘We know people are worried about us, we will get through this. Sending love to everyone, John.’
Colleagues of Mr Hunt said they were ‘heartbroken’ for the commentator and a minute’s silence was held for the family during the July Festival at Newmarket Racecourse in Suffolk, while jockeys sported black armbands.
Flowers were also left at the scene in Ashlyn Close, with notes attached to some bouquets with messages such as ‘rest in peace’.
Detective Superintendent Rob Hall, from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire major crime unit, said: ‘Our thoughts remain with the victims’ family at this tragic time.
‘The investigation is moving at pace and as a result, we have now arrested a man. Inquiries are continuing at this time.’
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