Hannah Clarke, Rowan Baxter, and their children Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey.
Hannah Clarke’s father has spoken about his daughter’s final moments and defiant last act after she and their three children were attacked and killed by Kiwi ex-husband Rowan Baxter.
Clarke, 31, and her children Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3, were murdered after Baxter ambushed the family on their way to school in a quadruple murder-suicide in Camp Hill, Queensland on February 19, 2020.
The killer doused the family car in petrol and set it alight with Clarke and the three children trapped inside.
Clarke was pulled out of the burning car by bystanders and told them that Baxter had poured petrol on her.
Baxter, 31, from Tauranga, then stopped bystanders from putting out the fire before he killed himself. All three children died on the scene while Clarke was rushed to hospital with burns to 97 per cent of her body.
Clarke’s father Lloyd has since recalled his daughter’s last moments before she succumbed to her horrific injuries.
Writing a harrowing account of his daughter’s final act for The Australian, he has called for the rest of Australia to follow the lead of NSW, Queensland and Tasmania in enacting laws designed to tackle coercive control, something Baxter had over Clarke for a long time before her death.
In The Australian, Lloyd detailed how his daughter called him as she was dying and how it’ll haunt him forever.
“In what were to be the final moments of her life, my daughter Hannah phoned me. It’s a call that will haunt me until the day I see her again.
“When I answered, there was no one on the other end, and I assumed that it was a pocket dial or one of her kids playing with her phone.
“A couple of hours later, the police came to tell me that my grandchildren, Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey, had been awfully murdered by the person who was supposed to love and protect them.
“Hannah had survived his cowardly attack, but would succumb to her injuries later that day. Her last act of resistance was to reach out for her dad. But she couldn’t talk to me.”
Lloyd continued, saying that his daughter’s final phone call was a “metaphor for what happens to victims of coercive control”.
“Coercive control is about taking away the person’s voice, and ultimately their identity,’ Clarke wrote in The Australian.
“That’s how control is truly exerted. Like water torture, it’s a steady drip, drip, drip of tricks and manipulation that leaves the victim entirely at the mercy of their tormentor.
“And, as we discovered almost four years ago, the psychological torment frequently ends in physical harm.”
Clarke had a domestic violence order out on Baxter as well as child custody orders following his multiple incidents of abuse.
He had a child custody order as recently as a month before the murders.
Lloyd went on to say Baxter would dictate what Clarke could wear, who she saw, her social media accounts, and went as far as tapping her phone and tracking her car.
He explained Baxter would also threaten to self-harm if Clarke didn’t give in to his demands.
The disgraced former league player also asked friends to spy on her and isolated her from her family.
In one incident he abducted 4-year-old Laianah and fled to another state.
“None of these actions in isolation could reasonably be considered a sign of impending murder,” he wrote, “but when they are viewed as a concerted pattern of behaviour, the warning is very clear.”
During an inquest in 2022, Deputy State Coroner Jane Bentley became emotional as she delivered her long-awaited findings into the deaths of the young family, detailing how their lives were snuffed out in her ex’s “final act of cowardice” following the arson attack.
Throughout the inquest, the court was told Baxter constantly displayed controlling and abusive behaviours towards Clarke.
Some of these included controlling what Clarke wore and who she could see, demanding sex every night and berating her body image.
Bentley said she found it unlikely any further actions from police, service providers and family could have stopped Baxter from carrying out his “murderous” plans.
She described the estranged ex-husband as a “master of manipulation”.
“After Hannah left him and he realised he could no longer control her, he began to rally support from friends he had not seen for years and professionals he considered could advance his cause.”
Bentley said Baxter killed himself in a “final act of cowardice”, unable to live with the public denunciation and punishment he would receive.
If you’re in danger now:
• Phone the police on 111 or ask neighbours or friends to ring for you.
• Run outside and head for where there are other people. Scream for help so your neighbours can hear you.
• Take the children with you. Don’t stop to get anything else.
• If you are being abused, remember it’s not your fault. Violence is never okay.
Where to go for help or more information:
• Women’s Refuge: Crisis line - 0800 REFUGE or 0800 733 843 (available 24/7)
• Shine: Helpline - 0508 744 633 (available 24/7)
• It’s Not Ok: Family violence information line - 0800 456 450
• Shakti: Specialist services for African, Asian and Middle Eastern women and children. Crisis line - 0800 742 584 (available 24/7)
• Ministry of Justice: For information on family violence
• Te Kupenga Whakaoti Mahi Patunga: National Network of Family Violence Services
• White Ribbon: Aiming to eliminate men’s violence towards women
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