Police search Baxters’ Brisbane home for what triggered tragic Camp Hill car fire

After his marriage breakdown, Rowan Baxter was living as a recluse before he set his wife and three children on fire in a murder-suicide.

WARNING: Graphic content

Photos from the former family home of Hannah and Rowan Baxter show toys littered across the back patio and clothes left out on the line.

Forty-two-year-old Rowan Baxter and his three children, Laianah, Aaliyah and Trey, all died when the vehicle went up in flames on Raven Street in Camp Hill at about 8.30am on Wednesday.

The children’s mother, 31-year-old Hannah Baxter, was rushed to hospital in a critical condition but later died of her injuries.

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Police have said it is too early to say how the fire started. But witnesses have described seeing Ms Baxter jump from the burning car and yell, “He’s poured petrol on me”.

Mr Baxter reportedly stabbed himself in the chest at the scene and tried to stop bystanders from attempting to save his wife.

It is understood police are now looking at whether Mr Baxter suffered a mental breakdown in the lead-up to Wednesday’s ordeal, according to The Courier Mail.

A neighbour told the paper the Baxters had lived at the house for two years before Rowan and Hannah separated.

Ms Baxter had then taken the children to her parents home in Camp Hill, where they had been staying when the fire took place, according to Nine.

Photos of the property in Carindale showed traces of family life. Kids thongs and sneakers laid next to the front door, while toys, including a pink scooter and discarded doll, were strewn across the backyard.

Police cordon off the family home. Picture: Liam Kidston

Kids and adult shoes at the front door. Picture: Liam Kidston

Toys strewn across the backyard. Picture: Liam Kidston

The Courier Mail reported Mr Baxter had reportedly become reclusive since separating from his wife.

Faded washing, including clothes, towels and sheets, could be seen hanging on his clothesline, while the garage door was found wide open.

Faded washing hanging on the clothesline in the backyard. Photographer: Liam Kidston

A trampoline with sheets hanging over the top. Photographer: Liam Kidston

Police sources said detectives would be scouring the home, as well as Mr Baxter’s social media pages and messages, for evidence as to what triggered the tragedy.

POLICE SEARCH FOR ANSWERS

Queensland Police have scoured the former home of a young Brisbane family killed in a horrific car fire on Wednesday, hoping to piece together what may have triggered the tragedy.

Later in the day, officers could be seen cordoning off the family’s brick rental property in Carindale – a leafy suburb popular with young families – and searching for evidence of what happened in the lead-up to the incident.

One officer was pictured checking inside the family’s garbage and recycling bins.

Police searched the bins at the Baxter home in Carindale. Photographer: Liam Kidston

The brick property was rented by the family. Photographer: Liam Kidston

The house was cordoned off. Photographer: Liam Kidston

Photos and videos posted online appeared to show a picture perfect wedding and family life.

Tributes are now flowing for the “super mum” and her children, as the local community comes to terms with the tragedy.

“It’s horrific and so unimaginably sad that innocent lives lost have been lost like this,” the Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Adrian Schrinner, said in a post on Facebook.