Man suspected of killing wife, three children in Oz fire

AN EX-RUGBY league player is suspected of murdering his three children and estranged wife in Austra lia by burning them alive inside their car, in what police described as one of t he most horrif ic incidents t hey have encountered.

Officers said 31-year-old Hannah Clarke died in a Brisbane hospita l on Wednesday just hours after her three children aged three, four and si x were found dead in the car on a suburban street.

Her husband, Rowan Ba xter, who a lso died, a llegedly approached t he vehicle a nd doused it wit h pet rol before sett ing it a light, The Australian newspaper reported.

The paper sa id Cla rke j u mped from the burning car and rolled on the ground, saying “he’s poured petrol on me”.

Officials said she was rushed to hospital with severe burns following the “horrific” incident but later succumbed to her injuries.

Baxter, a 42-year-old former rugby league player for the New Zealand Warriors, was believed to be in the burning vehicle but got out and died on a footpath.

Que e n s l a nd Pol i c e de t e c t i v e i n s p e c t or Ma r k T hompson on T hu r s day s a id Ba x ter d ie d a s a resu lt of burns a nd a sel f-i nf l icted wound.

“Information in hand has led us to believe that the Baxter children and Hannah Clarke were killed and I don’t believe there are any suspicious circumstances around the death of Rowan Baxter,” he said.

Clarke’s sister-in-law, Stacey Roberts, set up a fundraiser to pay for funeral costs and support Hannah’s parents, who she said had “exhausted themselves to try and help Hannah escape this monster”.

“A ll those who k new Hannah or had even just met her once would know how much of a beautiful soul she was. Her chi ld ren [were] her life,” Roberts posted on Facebook.

The page has so far raised almost A$100,000 (US$67,000).

Aust ra lia n Pr ime Minister Scott Mor r i s on s a id t he c ou nt r y wa s “shocked, saddened a nd devastated” by t he t ragedy, which has led to a n out pou r i ng of g r ief on socia l media.

“Hannah and her three children were so senselessly a nd maddeningly murdered in what has occurred in a terrible act of violence and it just grieves our hearts today,” he said.

Natasha Stott Despoja, a former senator and chair of anti-violence group Our Watch, called for stronger action to address violence against women in Australia, which she described as a “national emergency”.

“I know people want change, people are angry & sad today,” she tweeted. “How long before we stop this slaughter in our suburbs?”

A passer-by who tried to intervene in the situation was also taken to hospital to be treated for facial burns, a Queensland Ambulance Ser vice spokesperson said.

The emergency responders who attended the scene have been stood down from their duties and will receive support, he added.