Rita Panahi: ‘Good blokes’ do not commit such depraved acts
As the nation reels from the savage killing of Hannah Clarke and her children, we cannot allow any excuses for gutless monsters like Rowan Baxter. We must do all we can to protect women and kids trying to escape brutal domestic violence, writes Rita Panahi.
Rita Panahi
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Some crimes are so incomprehensibly evil that they can traumatise an entire nation. The horrific murder of Hannah Clarke and her children Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4 and Trey, 3, will haunt Australians for years.
Three beautiful children and their mum were burnt alive by a cowardly monster who spared himself the same torturous death.
Rowan Baxter killed himself with a knife after dousing his family with petrol and setting them alight in the family car.
He then screamed at those in the suburban Brisbane street who rushed to help, upset that they were trying to put out the flames.
It is impossible to understand the depravity, cruelty and callousness that would see a man plan and execute such an unfathomable act of savagery. Hannah was pulled out of the burning car by locals and was conscious as they rendered assistance. She told them “he’s poured petrol on me” as they tried in vain to save her life.
Witnesses describe “her skin peeling off” as she screamed for her children. Hannah died at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital on Wednesday evening. It may be wrong to write this but perhaps she didn’t want to survive. One cannot fathom how a mother could cope with the loss of her children in such dreadful circumstances.
Olga Edwards couldn’t live with the unimaginable grief. The heartbroken Sydney mother took her own life five months after her children, 15-year-old Jack and his 13-year-old Jennifer, were shot dead by their estranged father John Edwards who then killed himself. In the past there’s been a level of sympathy for family annihilators but that is only a final insult to their victims.
Family annihilators are gutless monsters and should be remembered as such. You are not absolved of murder because you killed yourself. The coverage of the Camp Hill massacre has been markedly different from some previous cases; there has been no attempt to whitewash what happened or paint the murderer as a tragic victim driven to an unthinkable crime. The Courier-Mail front page featured pictures of the victims, not their killer, and asked “how could he” while The Daily Telegraph’s front-page headline was “You Low Mongrel”. The West Australian’s front page simply read “Pure Evil”.
But still some in the community want to apportion blame elsewhere or rationalise the brutality. To them society is to blame or the family court system or mental health issues.
When we spoke about the Camp Hill case on radio some talkback callers were hesitant to condemn the killer and instead asked “what drove him to do it”.
The Baxters were reportedly in the midst of custody battle but as far as we know there was no final determination about custody arrangements or any family or federal court proceedings. Even if there was that is no justification for mass murder. Being denied access to your children is not an excuse to kill them.
Frankly, anyone who is capable of committing such a heinous crime has no business having visitation rights let alone shared custody. Hannah’s father, Lloyd Clarke, labelled Baxter a monster who’ll rot in hell.
“If he truly loved them he would not have killed his children in such a horrible way,” Mr Clarke posted online. “He might have said he cared and loved his children but I know it was always about him coming first.”
After a murder suicide the focus is often on the perpetrator but today we should remember the innocent lives lost. Hannah’s friends and family speak of a determined and loving mother who had tried to protect her children after fleeing an abusive partner. “She would have done anything and everything for those children, she was literally a super mum,” close friend Brianna Brown said.
Sister in-law Stacey Roberts said Hannah lived for her children and all she wanted was happiness. Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey were described as gorgeous, joyful kids who were a reflection of their mother’s love. Childhood friend Korri Loader also spoke about Hannah’s devotion to her family. “She lived, breathed, would do anything for those kids … she’s the definition of love, family.”
Hannah’s brother Nat Clarke revealed the family had done all they could to save her from a controlling “heartless monster” and that his sister was excited for the future. “Everyone who has been lucky enough to be a part of their lives would know just how sweet and loving these kids and my sister really were,” he wrote.
The risk of deadly violence is heightened when a woman leaves an abusive relationship.
As a community we must do everything possible to protect at-risk women and children who have taken that vital first step in escaping the cycle of domestic violence. We need the courts to punish those guilty of threats, harassment and acts of violence.
Too often the penalties do not reflect the seriousness of the crime. In the aftermath of the tragedy there have been opportunistic ghouls who have tried to use mass murders to attack their political and ideological opponents.
These people are as morally bankrupt as those who try to paint mass killers as “good blokes” who did something “out of character”.
Good blokes don’t kill people.
Rita Panahi is a Herald Sun columnist.