‘Failed NRL player who burned his entire family to death’: World’s media reacts to the actions of a ‘monster’
The world has reacted with horror and sadness to the tragic murder of Hannah Clarke and her children by a gutless “monster” and “failure”.
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The world has reacted with horror and sadness at the tragic murder of Queensland mum Hannah Clarke and her three children by her estranged husband, who has been branded a “monster” and a “failure”.
Hannah, 31, and the couple’s children, Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3, died in a car fire in Brisbane started by the husband and father. He managed to escape the car, but then stabbed himself to death.
The New York Post said the man was a “pro rugby player (who) had been stalking and tracking his estranged wife’s phone before he burned her and their three kids to death inside their car”.
The family believes the ambush killing was a last-straw act for the murderer, who had been controlling and emotionally abusive since the beginning of his relationship with Clarke, The Post reported.
“He had to hurt us because we’d beaten him,” the woman’s grieving dad said. “He was spiralling and had run out of people to sponge off. Looks like all of a sudden he decided there was only one way out.”
CNN reported that “Woman and three children killed in Brisbane car fire allegedly started by husband”.
The Independent reported that Hannah jumped out of the vehicle on fire, yelling: “He’s poured petrol on me!”
The Daily Mail described him as “a failed NRL player who burned his entire family to death”.
The Mail said he tried to control every aspect of Hannah’s life after she left him.
“(He) ‘ambushed’ his estranged wife Hannah Clarke, 31, as she drove their kids Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3, to school in Brisbane on Wednesday morning.
“He dived into the car, doused them in petrol and set it ablaze, burning all four to death while stabbing himself in the chest until he died next to the car.”
The New York Times reported that Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australians were “devastated” by the horrible crime.
“Australians all over the country are just shocked, saddened and devastated about what has happened in a suburban street … where Hannah and her three children were so senselessly and maddeningly murdered in what has occurred in a terrible act of violence,” the PM said.
TMZ reported that Hannah’s parents said the murderer was in a “downward spiral” prior to the murder-suicide, claiming it all started when Hannah left Baxter after 11 years of marriage.
“The parents detail Hannah’s relationship with Baxter, saying he was controlling and abusive ... and believe he hacked Hannah’s phone so he could track her every move.”
The Sun said the murderer was “allegedly distressed” about child custody arrangements following his split from Hannah.
It said police were called to Camp Hill. “Upon arrival, they found the couple’s three children dead in the car while Hannah was burning on the ground beside it.”
Stuff.co.nz summed up the thoughts of the rest of the world with this opinion piece: “I don’t care to learn anything more than I already know about (the murderer).
“The few facts we have; that he did something in sport at an almost-but-not-quite top level, used to own a gym, and felt so entitled and self-indulgent in his own sadness that he killed his entire family in an act of incredible brutality – well, that’s quite enough.
“I’d rather think of Aliyah, Trey and Laianah, three lovely kids who were the picture of innocence. But that’s hard enough in itself, isn’t it? It’s hard even to make yourself look at the photos taken of them in life, those sweet little faces under sunhats and santa hats, when we now know how their lives would end.”
Stuff.co said the murderer was known as a “heartless monster”.
The BBC reported that “Australia is mourning the deaths of a woman and her three children who were “senselessly murdered” in a car fire”.
“The case has sparked national outcry over domestic violence.”
The “failure” and “monster” appeared in court charged with breaching a domestic violence order and was allowed to walk free on January 29, just weeks before he murdered his family. He was not due to appear in court again until April.
The Guardian reported that Lloyd Clarke, Hannah Clarke’s father, called his estranged son-in-law “scum” and a “monster”.
“He might have said he cared and loved his children but I know it was always about him coming first,” he said on social media.
“The scum rots in hell.”
Wales Online reported that he grabbed a knife from the flaming car and tried to stab bystanders who were trying to help the family.
“He became angry and was protesting for those coming to their aid to ‘stop putting it out’.”
The Daily Star said the family’s dog, Savannah, spent an entire night staring up into the sky as a family friend said the pup had lost “everyone she loves”.
A family friend, Dave Kramer, is now looking after Savannah and he said she had made some new friends.
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-“I still don’t want to believe it. As I wake up this morning with their family dog laying in my bed, I realise this isn’t just a nightmare, and all I can do is lay here, cuddle her and cry. Hannah was an amazing woman and she was a pillar of strength to so many others.”
The Star reported that the murderous man “torched the family SUV after dousing it in petrol and killed himself after angrily trying to stop witnesses who tried to help save his wife and children.”
“We still don’t know how he got so close,” Hannah’s dad said. “He’s obviously ambushed her somehow, I’m sure she would not have stopped for him, she would be more likely to try to run over him. He had to hurt us because we’d beaten him. He was spiralling and had run out of people to sponge off. Looks like all of a sudden he decided there was only one way out.”
Marie Claire said the man who killed his wife and family should be called “a murderer. We need to call him what he was.
“We need to stop calling murderers ‘good blokes’. (The murderer) was not a ‘good bloke’. He was a violent, brutal murderer.”