‘Psycho’: Distressing new footage of Hannah Clarke after daughter’s abduction
Footage shows Hannah Clarke appealing to police for help after her estranged ex-husband and eventual killer took their daughter.
Police body cameras have captured a distressed Hannah Clarke appealing to police to retrieve her daughter from abusive ex-husband Rowan Baxter.
In the footage, she tells the police Baxter had said he wasn’t going to bring four-year-old Laianah back, calling him a “psycho” who was “pulling a stunt”.
“He took the middle one and just took off with her in my car. And now he’s trying to play games with me,” Ms Clarke said.
Multiple police officers who met with Ms Clarke before she and her children were murdered in a heinous domestic violence killing were called to the stand at an inquest into the death of the young mum, her ex, Rowan Baxter, and their children Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3.
The inquest heard Ms Clarke constantly feared her abusive ex-husband would hurt her three young children to “get back” at her.
On February 19, 2020, Baxter ambushed the young family as they drove to school, dousing the car in petrol and setting it alight.
Senior constable Luke Erba gave evidence of his brief interactions with Ms Clarke when Baxter abducted Laianah on Boxing Day.
Bodycam footage of the interaction was played to the court.
“I’ve said to him you need to wait until we can get this sorted; you’re not having them stay with you because you won’t return them,” Ms Clarke told the officers.
“And then I’m like ‘you go and pull a f**king stunt like this. The other two are absolutely beside themselves.”
She also explains her decision not to take out a domestic violence order (DVO), as she was “scared that it would antagonise the situation”.
Constable Erba and his partner discussed their options but said they could not do anything due to no orders being present.
“Without any orders in place, there’s not a great deal we can do in relation to the custody of the children,” Constable Erba said.
“Being the biological father, he does have a right to the child, and we can’t just, unfortunately, we can’t just go and take the child, even though he’s acting like he did.”
The court was told Baxter attempted to minimise the incident when confronted by police.
Jacoba Brasch, counsel assisting the coroner, said Baxter claimed Laianah walked towards the car with him on Boxing Day despite witnesses giving evidence the girl was forcefully taken.
Dr Brasch said Baxter claimed he was the children’s “primary carer” and talked “ironically” of Hannah abducting the children.
Senior Constable Kirsten Kent revealed she had dealings with Ms Clarke after she had left the abusive Baxter and how she assisted the young mum in getting protection and court-imposed orders.
She told the court on Monday that Ms Clarke came into Carina Police Station in December 2019 at the insistence of her mother, Sue.
“Nothing greatly concerned me at first, then I explained to her a bit more about what domestic violence was, the process and going through and getting an order,” Constable Kent said.
“She then disclosed to me that he (Baxter) makes her have sex every night … that’s concerning behaviour.”
The court was told Ms Clarke was constantly fearful that Baxter would hurt the children to “get back” at her.
Baxter had earlier spoken about having “a rope and a plan” in reference to a murder-suicide involving his ex-partner – something that troubled Ms Clarke greatly.
Constable Kent said at the time there was not enough evidence to form a family violence order.
Days later, she ran into Hannah while at work, noting she was “so fearful”.
After obtaining more information of the controlling behaviours Baxter exhibited and getting his criminal history from New Zealand authorities, Constable Kent said she attempted to serve him with a police protection notice (PPN).
He was not home at the time, having abducted Laianah off the street and taken off to NSW.
“At this time I knew what the kind of man he was and how he would not accept the PPN,” Constable Kent said.
Audio of Baxter being interviewed by police was played to the court, where he asserts he’s done “nothing wrong”.
Baxter is heard questioning police whether he could use certain photos of Hannah in lingerie during the court case.
In January 2020, Hannah discovered the photos in the back of the car, causing Rowan to violently twist her arm.
Constable Kent told the court she believed Baxter would use the pictures as a defence against his ex-wife’s claim that he would make her have sex every night.
“He was trying to use the pictures to say: ‘Look, my wife is sending me these pictures, she obviously wants to have sex with me,’” she said.
The inquest continues.
