Mark Chapman has been praised for his tribute to BBC colleague John Hunt, whose wife and two daughters were killed in a crossbow attack on Tuesday.
Hunt’s wife Carol, 61, and daughters Hannah, 28, and Louise, 25, were all killed in the attack, which took place in Bushey, Hertfordshire.
Hertfordshire Constabulary launched a manhunt for the suspect, Kyle Clifford, on Wednesday. It was announced at around 6pm that he had been captured, having been traced to the Enfield area of north London.
Police are today carrying out searches at a property in Enfield in relation to the deaths, with an initial search having been carried out on Wednesday. PA Media report that the property is linked to Clifford’s brother, who was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 23 years for murder in 2018.
Tributes flooded in for the Hunt family after it was reported that the three people killed had been identified.
Hunt works as a horse racing commentator for BBC Radio 5 Live, and he had on Tuesday been working at Lingfield Racecourse in Surrey hours before the tragedy occurred.
His long-time colleague and friend Chapman gave an emotional on-air tribute to Hunt and his family at the beginning of the pre-match buildup to England’s Euro 2024 semi-final clash against the Netherlands on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Chapman, who understandably had significant emotion in his voice while delivering the tribute, said: “Good evening from Germany. We have a football match to bring you tonight, and we will do. We will start our build-up shortly.
“But this has been a heartbreaking day. John Hunt is our colleague, and our friend. Not just to the current 5 Live sport team, but to all those that have worked here with him for the past 20 years, and also to all of you who have enjoyed his superb commentaries.
“On behalf of everybody connected to 5 Live Sport, our love and thoughts and support are with John and his family.”
In response to the tribute, one listener wrote: “I just cannot fathom the heartbreak that John is going through right now and hearing Mark’s voice full of emotion is a painful listen even for those of us that don’t know John Hunt. My prayers are with him right now.”
A second said: “Absolute class from Mark Chapman in very difficult circumstances. He always gets the tone exactly right.”
A third wrote: “You are one very class act Mr Chapman, that wasn’t easy to do. Our thoughts are also with the team, the family of a great man.”
And a fourth stated: “I have long thought Mark Chapman as the best sports presenter we’ve ever had. He is also a heck of a man. That cannot have been easy. Thinking of John tonight, who I hope is with loved ones.”
Featured Image Credit: GettyTopics: Horse Racing, Mark Chapman, England, Euro 2024
Ryan Smart