Hannah Clarke’s brother reveals Rowan Baxter’s final ‘emotional’ call to his children

The brother of Hannah Clarke has revealed the “blubbering” phone call Rowan Baxter made the night before killing his three children.

THE family of a Queensland mother and three children burned to death by their estranged husband and father says his unthinkable actions were premeditated.

Nathaniel Clarke told 7.30 last night Rowan Baxter made sure his sister Hannah Clarke and her children Laianah, 4, Aaliyah, 6, and Trey, 3, suffered.

“It wasn’t quick. It was planned and executed,” Mr Clarke said.

“He had a plan that night when he called the kids and he was a blubbering mess.

“He knew what he was doing then. He had it all planned out, he knew what he was doing the following morning.

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Hannah Clarke and her son Trey.

“He couldn’t even do it quick. That’s the worst thing. He made them suffer, and her.”

Family friend Simon Farmer said Baxter was “very emotional, very upset” when he FaceTimed his children the night before he killed them in a horrific act of domestic violence in Brisbane’s leafy Camp Hill last Wednesday.

“Hannah noticed that there was a distinct change in terms of, whether we want to call it unravelling, but a heightened level of emotion,” he told 7.30.

“He’s crying. I don’t know when something like that happens whether there’s a number for her to call and go you might want to intervene here.

“You might want to go and send someone around or ring him preferably not a police officer with a badge but maybe some sort of support service at that point when she’s noticed, I have a bloke unravelling here and he might be getting closer to the edge.”

Nathaniel Clarke, brother of Hannah Clarke, speaks at a vigil to remember his murdered sister and her three children. Picture: Jono Searle/Getty Images

Mr Clarke was working in Central Queensland when his wife called last Wednesday with the devastating news.

“At the time I didn’t know how big all this was,” Mr Clarke told Triple M’s Big Breakfast earlier this week.

“I had been working, I wasn’t on social media or anything.

“I sort of knew what happened – there had been an accident. My wife had called me to say, look, just come home, I knew sort of what happened, I just didn’t know the whole world knew.”

Ms Clarke succumbed to her injuries in hospital last Wednesday night after receiving burns to 90 per cent of her body.

Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3.

Her three children Laianah, 4, Aaliyah, 6, and Trey, 3, all died at the scene.

Their father Rowan stabbed himself to death.

Mr Clarke told Triple M earlier this week there were times they thought Baxter’s behaviour was strange but they didn’t think much of it.

“There were certain things he did that you sort of question … but you sort of let it slide,” he said.

“I think that’s the worse thing about this sort of domestic violence – they sort of make the other half play their part. My sister would always play (his behaviour) down.

“The worst part of this type of abuse is that you can’t see it. You get those feelings, but because you can’t see it, you don’t know.

“We look back now and we’re like, ‘Well what about this or that’ and there were signs everywhere.”