Clarke, Hannah Ashlie; Baxter, Aaliyah Anne; Baxter, Laianah Grace; Baxter, Trey Rowan Charles; Baxter, Rowan Charles
Deceased
Hannah Ashlie Clarke, Aaliyah Anne Baxter, Laianah Grace Baxter, Trey Rowan Charles Baxter, Rowan Charles Baxter
Demographics
mixed
Date of death
2020-02-19
Finding date
2022-06-29
Cause of death
Hannah Clarke: multi-organ failure due to effects of fire; Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey Baxter: effects of fire; Rowan Baxter: self-inflicted stab wound to chest with burns as contributing condition
AI-generated summary
Hannah Clarke, aged 33, and her three children (ages 6, 4, and 3) were killed by her estranged husband Rowan Baxter on 19 February 2020 in Camp Hill, Queensland. Baxter forced his way into Hannah's car, doused the family with petrol and set them alight, then died by self-infliction. The inquest identified extensive domestic violence and coercive control throughout the relationship. Significant missed opportunities included: failure to pursue criminal charges for strangulation and sexual assault; inadequate police training in domestic violence risk assessment; lack of coordinated multi-agency response despite Hannah being assessed as 'high risk'; insufficient resources for men's behaviour change programs; and lack of domestic violence screening by mental health practitioners. Hannah had expressed serious fear Baxter would kill her and the children. The coroner found Baxter was manipulative and not genuinely engaged with services, using them strategically. Recommendations focus on intensive police training, multidisciplinary specialist DV stations, and increased funding for perpetrator intervention programs.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
Contributing factors
- domestic violence and coercive control by Rowan Baxter
- separation and custody disputes
- escalating violence and obsessive behavior by perpetrator
- inadequate police response to domestic violence
- failure to pursue criminal charges for strangulation and sexual assault
- lack of coordinated multi-agency risk assessment and management
- lack of referral to high-risk teams despite high-risk indicators
- insufficient mental health practitioner screening for domestic violence
- limited access to men's behaviour change programs
- inadequate police training in domestic violence risk assessment
- absence of multi-disciplinary team response
Coroner's recommendations
- Queensland government fund QPS to provide a five day face to face DV training program for all specialist DV police officers as a matter of urgency
- QPS include in the annual Operational Skills Training a face to face module on DV which is mandatory for all police officers
- Queensland Government provide funding to trial a multi-disciplinary specialist domestic violence police station for 12 months (preferably in Logan or Kirwan district) including: specialist DV police officer/detective; specialist DV support worker; child safety officer; Department of Housing employee; Queensland Health employee; and lawyer
- Queensland government provide funding for men's behaviour change programs, both in prisons and in communities, as a matter of urgency
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