Australia - Hannah Baxter, & Laianah, Aaliyah & Trent, set on fire, died, Brisbane, Feb 2020

[BeckyF]

Rowan Baxter: Former rugby player dies in Brisbane car fire with wife and children - CNN

Dad set wife and 3 children on fire. All have perished.

 

[Sarahlou]

Absolutely sickening.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Burned his children alive, they must have been terrified and in agony... that's got to be the worst of the worst.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Good God, what can u say after reading that?

 

[BeckyF]

He demanded that bystanders STOP trying to douse the fire.
Video: Chilling footage shows Rowan Baxter playing with his children | Daily Mail Online

 

[akazia1978]

Killer Rowan Baxter stalked wife kidnapped kids before Brisbane car fire | Daily Mail Online
This is so horrific. She made it out the car only to perish from the burns. Those poor children. I really can't think of much worse than being burned alive.

 

[pukasonqo2]

Horrific murder/ suicide and the way the Australian press has chosen to cover it calling the perpetrator a sports hero, doting and loving father instead of what he is: suspect of a horrific crime

Brisbane car fire killings of Hannah Baxter and her three children leave Australia reeling amid calls for action on family violence - ABC News

Hannah Baxter: Australian mother and children 'senselessly murdered'

Hannah Baxter: Australian mother and children 'senselessly murdered'

Brisbane car fire: Hannah Baxter’s family say they tried to rescue her and children from violent husband | Brisbane | The Guardian

 

[PrimeSuspect]

@pukasonqo2 Thank you for posting this. He is a monster and the media misrepresenting the facts! This was NO accident or a loving, caring father, he's a cold blooded murderer, he didn't love his children! Is it because he's a sportsman or, because he wrote those 'loving' messages publicly on his fb as he planned his horrific crime?!

There's so much anger and sadness in the country, and on fb there are 'people' who defend him, that the family courts/she drove him to it. No one drives someone to kill their child/ren, it's in them to do it, because they never saw their children as independent people, who were born with rights to live no matter what!

Police respond to a "serious domestic dispute" somewhere in the country every two minutes.

Mum and kids join disgraceful family violence statistics

 

[mrjitty]

Another perfect loving dad eh?

But then as details emerge it turns out "Dad who snapped" according to his friends was actually a stalky abusive guy that his ex was struggling to get away from,

Glad the press coverage pivoted quickly away from the Chris Watts / perfect dad angle

 

[PrimeSuspect]

Chris Allen also spoke to Hannah Clark's family today, and said: "they described Rowan Baxter, Hannah's husband, as a monster.
"They say the Instagram photos show a happy, healthy fit family that ran a gym together don't tell the whole story.
"They say he was controlling and abusive and when she finally attempted to leave him and move in with her parents just around the corner, things went from bad to worse.
"They say he abducted one of their children just after Christmas and the child was gone for four days and until the police tracked them down and brought her back.

Family and witnesses speak after Camp Hill tragedy

 

[PrimeSuspect]

"We need to look at every piece of information and, to put it bluntly, there are probably people out there in the community that are deciding which side to take, so to speak, in this investigation," he said.
"Is this an issue of a woman suffering significant domestic violence and her and her children perishing at the hands of the husband?
"Or is this an instance of a husband being driven too far by issues that he's suffered by certain circumstances into committing acts of this form?"
Detective 'gutted' over domestic violence comments after family murdered in car fire

a cop with the same views as those angry, bitter men posting on fb. He has since apologized for making that statement, the sad fact is, those were his first thoughts.

 

[PrimeSuspect]

"For such a long time she didn't believe she was in a DV relationship. It hadn't crossed her mind, because as she said to me, her words 'he didn't hit me'," Ms Whaley, who worked in the domestic violence sector, said.

"I then started unpacking with her the emotional abuse, sexual abuse, financial abuse, and she had experienced all of those. And some of the things that she would explain was this excessive control of Rowan, the sexual abuse daily, and if she wasn't to have sex with him, he would punish not only her but also the children."

'For such a long time Hannah Clarke didn't believe she was in a DV relationship'

We've learned from the past with partners being murdered, there's every kind of abuse except the physical, it's like they save the worst for last, the death of the partner.

 

[gregjrichards]

I’m absolutely horrified by this wicked evil tragedy. I just don’t understand how anyone could do this and I never will.

May Hannah Baxter, & Laianah, Aaliyah & Trent Rest In Peace.

 

[Barbieshell]

Absolutely horrific case, RIP Hannah Laianah, Aaliyah & Trey. I honestly don't know how this could have been prevented but Hannah feared he was going to kill her. She did everything she could to break away from that horrible but he clearly had vengeance / murder in mind.
The only thing I can think of is that she would have had to disappear / change her name and start again possibly with police assistance - sadly she didn't get the chance and had only ever foreseen him coming for her.
Devastating interview with heartbroken family of Hannah Clarke reveals extent of marital horrors | Daily Mail Online

 

[gregjrichards]

Absolutely horrific case, RIP Hannah Laianah, Aaliyah & Trey. I honestly don't know how this could have been prevented but Hannah feared he was going to kill her. She did everything she could to break away from that horrible but he clearly had vengeance / murder in mind.
The only thing I can think of is that she would have had to disappear / change her name and start again possibly with police assistance - sadly she didn't get the chance and had only ever foreseen him coming for her.
Devastating interview with heartbroken family of Hannah Clarke reveals extent of marital horrors | Daily Mail Online

I agree with you I wish they could have got far away from him. It would be great if lessons can be learned from this horrific tragedy.

The photo of the family dog looking up at the sky broke my heart.

 

[BeckyF]

"We need to look at every piece of information and, to put it bluntly, there are probably people out there in the community that are deciding which side to take, so to speak, in this investigation," he said.
"Is this an issue of a woman suffering significant domestic violence and her and her children perishing at the hands of the husband?
"Or is this an instance of a husband being driven too far by issues that he's suffered by certain circumstances into committing acts of this form?"
Detective 'gutted' over domestic violence comments after family murdered in car fire

a cop with the same views as those angry, bitter men posting on fb. He has since apologized for making that statement, the sad fact is, those were his first thoughts.

What a terrible thing to say by a police officer. And disrespectful to Hannah. If I was a woman reporting domestic violence I certainly wouldn't want this police officer investigating. Driven too far that you set your wife and children on fire??

 

[pukasonqo2]

He has been since stood down
Queensland Police apologise for 'victim blaming' comments after murder of Hannah Clarke and kids
However, this does not change the fact that he is unsuitable for his role as a cop as he has already started an investigation into a crime by blaming the victim

 

[gregjrichards]

From unspeakable tragedy, a glimmer of hope: Number of men seeking help to stop committing domestic violence surges in the wake of the horrific murders of Hannah Clarke and her young children

Men are pledging to stop violence after family burnt to death in Brisbane car fire | Daily Mail Online

 

[spangled]

It's absolutely shocking, horrific. I cannot even imagine what pain the family is going through, or the witnesses on the scene.

A sickening, violent, despicable act. What a terrifying man.

I don't live far from Brisbane, everyone is shocked. And some important conversations are being had about domestic violence here, there are some very old fashioned opinions and some of the comments about how he was a good guy pushed to the edge are just disgusting.

 

[Babbakins]

My heart broke when I heard about this...the fact that she tried everything she could to get away from him to save herself and her children, only to end up being set on fire and have to watch her babies suffer the same is absolutely gut wrenching
May they Rest In Peace