Severely burnt, a lucid Hannah Clarke gave a full account of appalling attack

Despite severe burns to everywhere except her feet, Hannah Clarke was able to stand as she was hosed down by a Good Samaritan and give a detailed account to a police officer at the scene of what her estranged husband had done to her and her children.

She also told Stephanie Ring, an off-duty paramedic who was passing on her way home and stopped to help: “My babies are in the car, my children are in the car. Why didn’t I just stay in the car with them?”

Hannah Clarke with her three children – Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey.

Ms Clarke, 31, and her children – Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3 – were burned alive by her estranged husband, Rowan Baxter, 42, when he doused the inside of the family’s SUV in petrol and ignited it on Raven Street, Camp Hill, in Brisbane’s south on February 19, 2020.

The coronial inquest, which started in Brisbane this week, will investigate the contact Ms Clarke and Baxter had with domestic violence support services and police in the months before the tragedy. Whether more could have been done to keep the three Clarke children safe will also be a focus.

Senior Constable Angus Skaines stayed with Ms Clarke while she was being hosed down. He told the inquest he was “amazed” by the details Ms Clarke told him by the roadside, especially when Baxter, whose burns were not as severe as hers, could not talk.

“I had a conversation with Hannah. She was obviously significantly burned, but incredibly brave. She was able to tell me a lot of details about what had happened,” Senior Constable Skaines said.

Senior Constable Angus Skaines, who was commended by Deputy State Coroner Jane Bentley for his professionalism in speaking to Hannah Clarke at the scene of the attack.Credit: Toby Crockford

“She was able to spell names out, tell me his [Baxter’s] date of birth, his address, and all those fine details which, on normal jobs when you talk to people who are a little bit worked up, you can’t get those details from them.

“It was amazing the things she was able to tell me, and how much she was able to help us piece together what things had happened in the lead-up to this.”

Ms Clarke told Senior Constable Skaines what Baxter had done, which started with him ambushing her as she drove out of her parents’ home on adjoining Durimbil Street.

“She had hopped in the car to go to school … she had just turned the car on and he [Baxter] had jumped in the passenger seat and told her to drive,” Senior Constable Skaines said.

“He said: ‘I wanted to see my children.’ Hannah said: ‘No, get out, get out.’

“Rowan [Baxter] had a jerry can in his hand, so she started driving.

“When she came around onto Raven Street, she saw a gentleman [Michael Zemek, who gave evidence on Monday] washing his car, and she pulled over and asked for help, calling out for him to call the police.

“Rowan [Baxter] has then poured petrol throughout the car and lit it on fire.”

Queensland Ambulance Service medical director Dr Stephen Rashford, who treated Ms Clarke, explained why she could talk and stand after suffering such horrific injuries.

“Very severe full-thickness burns often don’t have a lot of pain associated with them, and that is because the nerve endings in the skin have been burnt,” he said.

Dr Rashford told the inquest that while the ambulance service’s policy was to be honest with patients, he did not feel that was the right thing to do that day.

“We reassured her as much as we could, we wanted to say to her that we would take any pain away and that we hoped she would wake up in hospital and be in a better place. That is always a very difficult conversation to have with anyone … I found her incredibly courageous.”

Ms Clarke died in the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital that night.

The inquest continues.

Helplines

• Lifeline: 13 11 14; lifeline.org.au
• Suicide Callback Service: 1300 659 467
• DVConnect: 1800 811 811