Coroner hands down inquest findings into the murders of Hannah Clarke and her children

Nothing could have stopped a ‘master manipulator’ from killing his estranged wife and their three children in a horrific car fire, coroner finds.

Hannah Clarke and her son Trey, 3.

Queensland police missed opportunities to punish Rowan Baxter for allegedly raping, stalking and choking his estranged wife Hannah Clarke in the weeks before the “master manipulator” burned her and their three children alive in their car.

But Deputy State Coroner Jane Bentley found nothing could have stopped Baxter from “ultimately executing his murderous plans” before he brutally killed Clarke and their three children Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3, on February 19, 2020, in Brisbane.

Although Clarke had spoken to police and domestic violence workers in the weeks before she died, Ms Bentley found there was a failure by all agencies to recognise her “extreme risk of lethality” because Baxter had not been physically violent and had no relevant criminal history.

“There was a failure to recognise the risk of intimate partner homicide which results from separation in a coercive control relationship,” Ms Bentley found.

The inquest has recommended the state government urgently fund a 12-month trial of a specialist domestic violence police station in Logan, south of Brisbane, or Kirwan, in Townsville – where DV incidents are highest. The service would include specialist detectives, a DV support worker, a child safety officer, a housing department official to find new accommodation for victims, a Queensland Health medical worker and a lawyer.

Ms Bentley also urged the government to immediately fund police to provide specialist domestic violence officers with five days of face-to-face DV training, and to fund men’s behaviour change programs in prisons and in the community at large.

Baxter had forced his way into Clarke’s car when she was leaving her parents’ house to take the children to school, poured petrol on her and the children, and lit them on fire when she screamed for help. The car exploded, and the children were killed almost instantly.

Clarke struggled free, and in an act of “astounding bravery” and despite full-thickness burns to 98 per cent of her body, recounted Baxter’s actions to first responders, constantly asking “about her babies”. She died in hospital that night.

Lloyd and Sue Clarke at the Brisbane Magistrates Court following the coronial inquest into the murder of their daughter and three grandchildren. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

Baxter aggressively paced around the car, and reached into it – not to help his children – but to retrieve his knife, which he used to stab himself in the heart, in a “final act of cowardice” to avoid denunciation for his crimes.

Ms Bentley said police had charged Baxter with breaching a domestic violence order against Clarke about a month before the murders, and he was free to go.

If police had investigated some of the more serious behaviour Clarke had alleged – rape, non-lethal strangulation, stalking, intimidation, control of their children, and surveillance – they could have charged him with those offences and asked for stricter bail conditions.

“However, overall, I find that Hannah was dealt with appropriately by the police officers with whom she had contact,” Ms Bentley said.

A spokesman said the government would closely consider the coroner’s recommendations. And on Friday, former president of the Queensland court of appeal Margaret McMurdo will release her final report into sexual and domestic violence, which was ¬ordered by the government after the Clarke murders.

The 159-page coronial findings reveal Baxter was intensely controlling of Clarke from the outset of their relationship, forbidding her from wearing shorts, the colour pink, or short skirts. He forced her to have sex with him every night – often choking her without her consent – and if she refused, he’d punish their children by confiscating toys or cancelling plans.

Baxter secretly recorded her conversations in their home, and her car, and would covertly watch her through the window.

His controlling behaviour started to escalate in November 2019. In early December, Clarke and her children moved out and into her parents’ home. On Boxing Day 2019, Baxter threw Laianah into the front seat of his car, unrestrained, and drove away with her, taking her to NSW for three days.

Two days later, police applied for a DVO on Clarke’s behalf. She filed an affidavit detailing the violence he had subjected her to, and saying she was scared of him. Clarke told police Baxter was “totally capable of killing himself and killing our children to get back at me”. “This scares me beyond words,” she wrote in the affidavit.

Hannah Clarke with Laianah, 4, Aaliyah, 6, and Trey, 3

On January 31, Clarke saw explicit photographs of herself in Baxter’s car when he was returning Trey to her. She removed the photos, and Baxter grabbed her wrist, twisting it behind her back.

She screamed, and her mother called the police.

Baxter was later issued a notice to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court in March for breaching the temporary protection order and for common assault.

Susan Beattie, manager of the Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board of the Coroner’s Court, identified this as one of the moments when Baxter could have been dealt with more harshly by police.

Ms Beattie said although Clarke and Baxter had contact with multiple agencies, no one seemed to realise the extreme risk Clarke was at of being murdered by Baxter.

She said he was exhibiting many factors of coercive con¬trolling behaviour, which can ¬escalate into murder after a relationship breaks up.

Ms Beattie said child safety services did not consider the risks to the children, despite Clarke repeatedly telling multiple services she was fearful for their safety.

She said more action could have been taken by police after Clarke’s allegations that she had been raped, had been non-lethally strangled, stalked and intensively monitored by Baxter.

“Pending consideration of whether there was sufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges, investigations by police in relation to these offences may have provided an opportunity to implement strong bail conditions against (Baxter) that would have allowed for more intensive monitoring of him (such as GPS tracking) or other similar restrictions,” Ms Beattie said.

Clarke’s parents, Sue and Lloyd, have campaigned tirelessly for more education about coercive control since the murders of their daughter and grandchildren. The Queensland government has agreed to criminalise the behaviour, which came to prominence after the murders.

Outside court on Wednesday, the Clarkes said they were pleased with the coroner’s findings but would not stop until they were implemented across Australia.

Mrs Clarke said the specialist domestic violence police stations were a “game-changer” and Mr Clarke said he hoped they would help different agencies communicate better.