On 19 February 2020, Rowan Baxter perpetrated a quadruple

murder–suicide A murder–suicide is an act where an individual intentionally kills one or more people before killing themselves. The combination of murder and suicide can take various forms: * Suicide after or during murder inflicted on others ** Suicide af ...

in Camp Hill,

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. Baxter fatally burned his 31-year-old estranged wife Hannah Clarke and their three children, Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey, before committing suicide at the scene. The murders sparked a national debate about

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

in Australia, after reports emerged that Baxter had a history of violence and alleged

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against Woman, women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than Man, men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been wide ...

and had been subjected to a domestic violence order (DVO) as well as

child custody Child custody is a legal term regarding '' guardianship'' which is used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent or guardian and a child in that person's care. Child custody consists of ''legal custody'', which is the ri ...

orders as recently as the month of the murders.

Background

Hannah Clarke (formerly Baxter; 8 September 1988 – 19 February 2020) met New Zealand-born Rowan Baxter in 2008, eleven years her senior, when she was aged 19. Baxter, a former

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

player who trialled with the

New Zealand Warriors The Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as the Aucklan ...

, was previously married to another woman. He proposed to Clarke in 2011 and they married in

Kingscliff, New South Wales Kingscliff is a coastal town just south of Tweed Heads, New South Wales, Tweed Heads in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, and is a beach community offering a variety of holiday accommodations. Together with the villages ...

, in 2012. They had three children: Aaliyah, 6; Laianah, 4; and Trey, 3. Reports emerged after the murders that Clarke had allegedly been emotionally, physically, sexually and financially abused by Baxter during their marriage. Baxter was subjected to a DVO after he allegedly kidnapped Laianah on

Boxing Day Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...

2019. He had rejected his lawyer's advice in

mediation Mediation is a structured, voluntary process for resolving disputes, facilitated by a neutral third party known as the mediator. It is a structured, interactive process where an independent third party, the mediator, assists disputing parties ...

and refused to sign a consent order offered by Clarke allowing him 165 days of custody a year. The DVO was varied in the

Holland Park Holland Park is an area of Kensington, on the western edge of Central London, that lies within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and largely surrounds its namesake park, Holland Park. Colloquially referred to as 'Millionaire's Row', ...

Magistrates' Court A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several Jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) ...

in January 2020, returning Baxter's full access to his children. The couple then went to mediation, with Baxter refusing to sign the consent order which would lock in custody of the children. He subsequently signed a parenting agreement that gave him the same level of access but was not legally binding. This access was revoked in early February when police charged him with breaching the DVO. Although it is unclear when she began to do so, Clarke legally used her

maiden name When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, in some countries and cultures that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("birth name" ...

rather than her married name.

Attack

On 19 February 2020, Clarke was driving their children to drop them at school when Baxter doused the interior of the car with petrol and set it alight. Clarke was pulled burning out of the car by bystanders and told them that Baxter had poured petrol on her. While the car was burning with the three children inside, Baxter stopped bystanders from putting out the fire before he stabbed himself to death. Clarke was rushed to the Royal Brisbane Hospital with burns to 97% of her body, but died there that evening.

Funeral

Clarke and her children were buried on 9 March 2020.

Australian Prime Minister The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the federal executive government. Under the principles of responsibl ...

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (born 13 May 1968) is an Australian former politician who served as the 30th prime minister of Australia from 2018 to 2022. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party and was ...

and

Queensland Premier The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is appointed ...

Annastacia Palaszczuk Annastacia Palaszczuk ( , born 25 July 1969) is an Australian politician who served as the 39th premier of Queensland from 2015 to 2023. She held office as the leader of the Queensland branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 2012 unt ...

attended their joint funeral.

Legacy

In March, Clarke's family established the foundation 'Small Steps 4 Hannah' in honour of the slain children. The charity states its establishment is to "put a HALT to the incidences and severity of domestic and family violence in Australia". On 23 February, over 1,000 people gathered to celebrate and mourn the family in a public

vigil A vigil, from the Latin meaning 'wakefulness' ( Greek: , or ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word has become generalized in this sense and means 'eve' (as in "on t ...

held at the Bill Hewitt Reserve in Camp Hill. A small section of the same reserve was later memorialised as 'Hannah's Place' with a sign, shelter and newly planted trees. On 8 September 2020, 'Hannah's Place' was opened by Coorparoo Councillor, Cr Fiona Cunningham along with Clarke's family, on what would have been Hannah's 32nd birthday. Clarke was named one of ''

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' (stylized in all lowercase; ) is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on women aro ...

'' magazine's 'Women of the Year' in their December 2020 issue, for the nationwide awareness brought to the issue of coercive control in Australia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke family murders 2020 deaths 2020 murders in Australia 2020s in Queensland Deaths by person in Australia Deaths from fire Familicides February 2020 in Australia February 2020 crimes Female murder victims in Australia Child murder in Australia Child abuse resulting in death Mass murder in 2020 21st-century mass murder in Australia Murder in Brisbane Murder–suicides in Australia People murdered in Queensland Violence against women in Australia

Background

Attack

Funeral

Legacy

See also

References