The Misery Machine - The Case of the Clarke-Baxter Family Massacre

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hannah Clark was born on September 8th, 1988 in Brisbane, Australia to parent Sue and Lloyd Clark. She was described as a bubbly, fun-loving, happy, and friendly girl who dreamt of having her own children one day, even at a young age. Hannah was a wonderful big sister to her brother. She represented the state in trampoline when she was just 16 years old and was a school captain during her senior year. For those here in the States, a school captain is a student who represents the school's student. student body and serves as a role model for the whole school. When Hannah finished school, she started teaching youth gymnastics at the Police Citizens Youth Club, or PCYC. She also worked as a teacher in vacation care. It was at the PCYC that 20-year-old Hannah met 31-year-old Rowan

Starting point is 00:00:48 Baxter. Rowan Baxter was born on May 9, 1977 in Tarangas City, New Zealand. His childhood was described as chaotic and his father went to prison when he was young for essay of a minor. It's been alleged but not confirmed that the minor was Rowan's sister. While not much is known about Rowan's history, one of his cousins stated that he was an angry child and had a history of showing cruelty to others. According to another cousin, she was terrified of Rowan, and his misogynist ways was a family trait that he inherited. Rowan played rugby at Taranga Boys College and went on to be contracted to the New Zealand Warriors National Rugby League team in 2005. He was paid $10,000 a year, but he never played a game while part of the team.

Starting point is 00:01:35 Rugby was a family sport, and his brother Charles played professionally for the Bay of Plenty steamers for five years. Even though Rowan never actually played a game, he would always refer to himself as an ex-national rugby league player, both in his future professions and also when he met people. Rowan's friends and coworkers didn't have the best things to say about him either. They described him as controlling and driven. He did not like to be told no. They said he always had to be the alpha male and that he was very confrontational.

Starting point is 00:02:07 Rowan was extremely competitive, including with his clients, and he always had to win. He would lie when it suited him. He made all decisions and ignored the advice of others. Rowan was suspicious in nature and always painted himself as the victim. He was short-tempered. He was known to pretend to cry in order to garner sympathy from people. Only a couple of people had nice things to say about Rowan, that he was a loyal friend that would help out when needed and that he was a good father to his kids. Rowan was married before he met Hannah and had a young son.

Starting point is 00:02:38 Eunice first wife met when he was 18 and she was 16. At the time their son was two years old, she wanted a divorce due to Rowan's controlling behavior and anger issues. However, Rowan wouldn't let her leave and took to stalking her. Rowan then told us a strange wife that he had a hose pipe in his car, and he had planned how he was going to end it for all three of them. Sadly, she decided to go back to this relationship. In 2008, Hannah was teaching at the PCYC in Carondale, a suburb of Brisbane when Rowan's son attended her class. It was there that the two met, and even though he was still married, he began an affair with Hannah. At the time, Rowan had told Hannah that he had

Starting point is 00:03:20 and his wife had separated, but were living together for their son. About four months into the affair, he decided to break up with his wife. He moved out of the family home, agreeing to a co-parenting plan. However, Rowan would still get aggressive with his ex, threatening to beat her door down if there was a conflict in the parenting plan. Hannah became pregnant about six months into the relationship, and even though she wanted to keep the baby, Rowan convinced her to terminate it due to her young age. Over the next four years, Hannah and Rowan moved in together, moving a couple of times before settling in Mansfield. In October of 2012, Rowan and Hannah were married, and at the time, she was 14 weeks pregnant with their daughter. Rowan also stopped paying child support for his son after he

Starting point is 00:04:07 had his first child with Hannah. Alia Baxter was born on April 10, 2013. She was described as a sweet, articulate, clever girl who was excelling at school. She loved reading an English class. She was a brave girl who stood up to her father's violent behavior. She had seen the way that Rowan had treated her mother and she didn't like it. In January of 2015, Hannah and Rowan, who were both very fitness-focused, decided to open a gym that they called Integrate Gym. Even though Hannah's parents and another investor paid to open the gym, it ultimately failed.

Starting point is 00:04:43 Hannah's parents often paid their rent and bills to keep the family afloat. Around the same time that the gym opened, the couple had their second child, Leanna, and then 18 months later, their final child, Trey. Leona Baxter was born on March 19, 2015, and was a sweet girl by nature. She was the peacekeeper who would try to make sure everyone was happy around her. She was described as a miniature version of her mother. If her father was angry, she would sit in his lap and try to calm him. him down. Trey Baxter was born on December 4th, 2016, and was a mom's boy through and through.

Starting point is 00:05:20 He loved running and playing and loved nothing more than to be with his mother. Over time, Rowan's behavior with Hannah became progressively more controlling and aggressive. Early in the relationship, Hannah had gone on a cruise and she expressed concern to her mother that Rowan wasn't happy with her going away. He contacted her excessively during this whole trip. Rowan then started to control what she wore, forbidding her to wear shorts, short skirts, or the color pink. Keep in mind, this is in Brisbane, Australia, where it is often hot, therefore wearing shorts and or skirts is not uncommon to do there. According to folks that we know in Australia, it is not uncommon to see people wearing much less than that in public, and it's not really frowned upon. So for someone to not be wearing shorts or skirts above the knees is somewhat unusual, especially those who work in the fitness industry.

Starting point is 00:06:11 Rowan started to control other aspects of Hannah's life. They had a joint Facebook page as Rowan didn't want her to have her own. Before opening their own gym, he got a job at the same place as Hannah, presumably to keep an eye on her. He started to isolate Hannah from her family, and this is a family that was very much tight-knit at one point. Rowan not only criticized Hannah's family, he would also control the amount of time that Hannah and the kids could visit. His criticism and controlling behavior didn't stop with Hannah either. If the kids didn't clean their toys up quickly enough, he would throw the toys in the trash. He would often cancel events the kids were looking forward to in order to punish Hannah.

Starting point is 00:06:50 Allegedly, Rowan also planted devices in the house and inside Hannah's car so that he could record and listen to what she was saying. This was never proven, however, and in one instance, he overheard a conversation that happened in their car between Hannah and an employee at the gym. The employee criticized Rowan for taking over a gym class that Hannah was running. Rowan was enraged at this conversation. He claimed Alia had been playing with the phone and accidentally called him, so he overheard the conversation. But while this is possible, it wasn't the only time this happened. After an argument, Rowan left the house with the kids and Hannah, who was upset, called her mother. Rowan later knew every word that was said in that conversation and held it against Hannah.

Starting point is 00:07:32 He told a coworker that it was an accident and that he left the phone on record. after the coworker told him he shouldn't be recording Hannah without her knowledge. While it's unknown exactly how much physical violence happened in the house, a few friends and family reported seeing bruises on Hannah. At one point, she had a fingerprint bruise on her arm after an argument. Hannah wanted to take Aaliyah with her to a fitness competition and Rowan disagreed. After going through Hannah's phone one evening, he threw it across the room and smashed it after he didn't like what he saw.

Starting point is 00:08:07 Rowan would also demand that Hannah sleep with him on a daily basis. If Hannah didn't comply, he would start an argument. Now, on one occasion, he smashed her watch in anger and then left the house and took the same hose that he threatened his ex-wife with. A terrified Hannah called her mother. Worried he was going to shove the hose in his exhaust, Hannah's pants drove around Brisbane looking for him. He later came home and said he had driven to a church parking lot and attempted to

Starting point is 00:08:37 to do so. Eventually, Hannah had enough, and in November of 2019, she reached out to a family violence resource center and told them she wanted to leave her husband, but she didn't know how to do it safely. Now, as we mentioned previously, she believed Rowan was monitoring her. Together, they made an exit plan. In December of 2019, Hannah put the plan into action, fleeing her home with little possessions. She picked up Aaliyah from school and fled to her best friend's house. She left her phone in the car, which they hid in case Rowan was tracking them. The next day, they went to her parents' house. On December 4th, Rowan contacted Relationships Australia.

Starting point is 00:09:19 According to their website, Relationships Australia is a leading provider of relationship support services for individuals, families, and communities. They aimed to support all people in Australia to achieve positive and respectful relationships. The organization offered Rowan a session on December 10th, but he never confirmed or attended this appointment. On December 14th, Rowan went to his doctor and told him that Hannah and the kids had moved out. He confessed that he had control issues, which were getting worse. He was in tears and indicated that he regretted his behavior. Rowan mentioned he had a bad upbringing but was close to his mother and that he had cut a lot of people out of his life. He went back on the 16th for a mental health visit and was prescribed to Mazepam,

Starting point is 00:09:59 but no further follow-up was ever done and this was the last contact he had with his doctor. According to a clinical pharmacist, we consulted, Tamazepam is normally prescribed for insomnia. Now, Rowan presented with anxiety, and it's quite possible he was dealing with insomnia at the same time, so theoretically possible he was prescribed to Mazapam because of this. Now, on December 6, Hannah went to the police, and there she was advised to serve Rowan with a DVO. However, she was scared this would aggravate him and escalate the behavior. A DVO is an order which prohibits people from committing family violence against one another, much like a protection order here in the United States.

Starting point is 00:10:40 Unfortunately, Hannah continued to contact Rowan so that he can see the kids. He would consistently tell her to think of the children, and of the alleged harm she was causing them due to her leaving the relationship. He also started to tell Hannah's parents that their daughter was mentally ill and that he had done nothing wrong whatsoever. This started off a constant back and forth where Rowan would close, that he would return the children but then change his mind. Sent Hannah into a frenzy trying to get her children back.

Starting point is 00:11:09 And much like with this previous marriage, he would show up unannounced, let himself into his in-laws home and stalk and harass Hannah. On December 26, 2019, Rowan had the children for the day and Hannah went to pick them up. Now, instead of handing the kids over, Rowan threw Leanna in the front seat of his car and drove off. A witness saw this and flagged down a passing police car who then talked to Hannah. Unfortunately, as there were no family court orders in place, all the police could do was asked Rowan to return his daughter, but they couldn't take her from him. The police did try to contact Rowan and went to his house, but nobody was home. Later that evening, Rowan called

Starting point is 00:11:51 Hannah on FaceTime and told her that unless she ended an affair that he claimed she was having and he would not return Leanna. Hannah wasn't even having an affair. This was just another tactic Rowan was using to control her. Hannah contacted her lawyers who drafted a letter to Rowan, demanding the return of Leanna. The police decided that they were going to file a DVO on Hannah's behalf, regardless of her intention to do so.

Starting point is 00:12:18 On December 28th, the police protection order was filed. On December 29th, the police made contact with Rowan at his house as he was putting Leanna in the car. They advised him of the court order and told him he couldn't go within a hundred meters of Hannah or the children until the matter could be heard in the court for permanent orders.

Starting point is 00:12:38 The police then took Leana into custody and returned her to Hannah. Rowan was to have no contact before January 4th, 2020, and they were all due in court. Later, the police conducted a welfare check and noted that Leanna appeared scared. After what was essentially a kidnapping,

Starting point is 00:12:56 She always kept her mother within her sights. Hannah was recommended to take the children to child-aware psychology for services, but no records were ever found that the children had attended. In support of the police issuing a DVO, Hannah provided a statement about some of the things that had been going on behind closed doors. These included that she was forced to sleep with Rowan every night, even though he would tell her she was disgusting. And that sleeping with her was, and I'm quoting him,

Starting point is 00:13:26 like having sex with a bucket. In Hannah's own words, if I didn't have sex with him every night, he would make our lives hell. In the end, it became a chore I had to do to keep the peace and keep our kids safe from his temper. She also stated that he would hold her neck, even though this made her uncomfortable,

Starting point is 00:13:44 but wouldn't squeeze enough to cut off her oxygen. On one particular occasion, when Hannah told Rowan no, he attempted to assault her and Hannah had to fight him off physically. It was stated that Rowan had told her he had a plan to end the existence of his ex-wife, their son, and then himself. This made Hannah fearful that he would attempt to do the same to her and their children. Also, Hannah said that she was scared of Rowan as he behaved in a way that made her fear for her children.

Starting point is 00:14:12 Rowan had posted videos to social media in the past of him playing too roughly with the kids, and in some cases being outright violent. In one video, he puts the kids in an ice bath. Little Trey was crying hysterically, whole time. Rowan also contacted the police around the same time, claiming that he was the one in fear of Hannah. He said Hannah had a key to the house and was able to let herself in. He worried that she would come in and take Leanna, who he had in his care at the time. He said that he was so scared he was driving around in the car with his daughter. Given the size difference between

Starting point is 00:14:47 both of them and history of their relationship, one could assume he was trying to counter any claims that Hannah herself was trying to make. On December 29th, 2019, Rowan attended his first counseling session as part of his mental health plan. According to the session notes, Rowan reported wanting help controlling his jealousy and that Hannah had left him for his controlling behavior. No formal risk assessment or risk screening for family violence was completed, and the session focused on dealing with overwhelming feelings by using techniques such as breathing. The psychologist also provided him with pamphlets on how to be supportive of each other and how to hold a relationship meeting to sort out problems logically.

Starting point is 00:15:32 His mental health assessment indicated he was feeling moderately depressed and anxious, but answered no to all questions regarding harming himself or others. On December 30th, DV Connect attempted to contact Roan twice by phone and text following a referral from the Queensland police. They tried the next day but were unable to establish contact. On the 31st, Rowan again attended his counseling session and disclosed that he had a protection order against him. He claimed that Hannah had made it all up and that he was upset that he wasn't able to see his children. Session notes state that they discussed the hardship of not seeing his kids,

Starting point is 00:16:11 but again, no risk assessment was done. On January 1st, a child harm referral was raised within the police system the Child Protection Investigation Unit. These are raised when there is a potential for harm to come to a child resulting from a domestic incident attended to by the police. If an officer who has visited an incident is concerned about the welfare of a child, they will raise a referral to be investigated by the specialized child protection unit. Once this unit completes an investigation, they can also raise the matter to the DOCS,

Starting point is 00:16:44 which is Australia's version of CPS. This referral, however, was closed by Detective Sergeant Derek Harris as a custody dispute, and no further investigation was necessary. He did, however, send a copy of the report to DOCS. On January 6, Rowan again attended counseling and reported that their gym had been closed and that Hannah was oversharing their business, making people avoid him. He said he wanted 50-50 custody. Again, no risk assessment was done in strategies such as starting,

Starting point is 00:17:16 new activities were discussed to help Rowan. The matter went to court on January 8th, and Rowan contested the DVO. In the end, the DVO ruled in favor of Hannah and stated that Rowan could not commit acts of family violence, expose the children to family violence, go within 100 meters of Hannah's residence, or contact Hannah unless it was regarding the children. On January 17th, Rowan sought out advice from the men's legal service. He told them he believed that Hannah was planning to run off with the children and that he would never see them again. At the same time, Rowan increased his stocking. He would be at the same coffee shop as her, the same shopping centers.

Starting point is 00:17:52 He would follow Hannah around, and he kept appearing wherever she went. Hannah was worried that he had planted another tracking device on her. January 21st, Rowan attended another counseling session. He claimed that he was being accused of being mentally unstable in order to restrict his access to the children. His psychologist, Vivian Jarrett, wrote Rowan a letter that stated the following, and I quote. Mr. Baxter has been stressed over his wife leaving him suddenly, but has been coping remarkably well considering. He has been very open and sincere in our sessions.

Starting point is 00:18:24 I have no concerns regarding his mental health. Contact with his children would be ideal, and after reviewing his parenting strategies, all seems in order for him to regain contact. It appeared this letter was written solely on what Rowan was saying. No official risk assessment or screening was ever done by the psychologist in relation to family violence or risk to children in order to write this letter of support. A letter that would turn out to be so completely wrong, Rowan presented the biggest risk of all to Hannah and his children.

Starting point is 00:18:57 Rowan, however, continued to fight the DVO. His lawyer sent a letter of the court claiming that Hannah had only filed the DVO in order to get Leona back and retain custody of the children. On January 23rd, the court declared that Hannah was to retain custody of the children and Rowan would get alternating weekends with them. Every other week they would spend Thursday to Friday with Rowan. They would have shared holidays, weekly FaceTime calls, and changeover was to occur at Hannah's parents' home. Unfortunately, all of this was taking its toll on the kids, and they repeatedly stated that they did not want to see Rowan, especially Alia.

Starting point is 00:19:30 On one overnight visit, Alia called Hannah crying. She said they were driving and she didn't know where they were going. On January 31st, 2019, Rowan returned Trey later than the agreed custody time. While Hannah was getting Trey out of the car, she noticed that Rowan had explicit photos of her laying out in the open. Anna grabbed the photos and went to walk inside, but Rowan got out of the car and grabbed her wrist, turning it up behind her. And his mother called the police. However, Rowan denied the assault and went to file a DVO against Hannah instead. Hannah, however, had seen a doctor who advised her wrist had been sprained and put it in a splint.

Starting point is 00:20:05 Hannah reported the breach of the DVO to the police. When the police tried to talk to Rowan, he refused to speak without least. legal counsel. Around the same time, Rowan lost his job as a personal trainer at a local gym. Anna's lawyers also advised Rowan's lawyers that due to this incident, Hannah would not be following the parenting plan and Rowan would not be seeing the children any longer. Rowan was starting to unravel. He viewed everything as Hannah's fault in an attack on himself. He lacked insight into his behavior. His friends started to worry that he would make good on his threats to exit this world by his own means. The breach of the DVO finally caught up to him,

Starting point is 00:20:44 but the police decided that rather than to take him into custody, they would issue him a notice to appear. He was also given notice for common assault for hurting Hannah's wrist. On February 7th, Rowan called Hannah's brother's ex-wife and stated he was so angry he wanted to kick her in the head. He wanted to go over, kick the door down, and smash her head in. On February 17, he was a lot of, Rowan went to a local hardware store and purchased zip ties, a jerry can for fuel, and denatured alcohol. The following day, Rowan filled the jerry can with 4.6 liters of fuel. He purchased three kinder surprise eggs and some lollipops. At 3.28 p.m. the same day, he phoned youth and family services and inquired about a men's support program.

Starting point is 00:21:31 At 4 p.m., he then phoned the men's line to inquire about the same program. At 6.25 p.m., he called a friend in tears saying he couldn't see the kids due to the DVO breach and that everything Hannah is doing is working. That night, Rowan FaceTime his children, but he didn't say anything. He just cried on the call. Hannah was worried for her own safety, even telling her mother that she needed to make a will, because when Rowan killed her, he would go to prison and someone needed to care for the children. At one point, she told a friend at the gym she was worried Rowan would hurt her. the kids and ordered to hurt her. Sadly, she was right in both instances. On February 19th, 2020, Anna's mother Sue went to the gym and arrived home at 6.20 a.m.

Starting point is 00:22:17 Anna then went out and got coffee for herself and her mother. She then sat on her mother's bed drinking it while Sue got ready for work. The girls were playing in their bedroom and Trey was watching a dinosaur show on the television. At 7.20 a.m., Sue kissed her daughter and grandchildren goodbye for what would turn out to be the final. time. Hannah loaded up the kids in her car to drop Alia and Leanna off at school. Tray was in his car seat in the middle. Leah was behind the driver's seat and Leanna was behind the passenger seat. As Hannah started the car, Rowan jumped into the passenger side holding a jerry can full of fuel and told her to start driving. Hannah screamed at him to get out of the car. She drove but pulled

Starting point is 00:22:58 up beside a man named Michael Zemmick, who was in his driveway washing his car. She screamed to him, called the police, he's going to kill me. He's poured petrol on me. Michael looked over and saw Rowan in the front seat physically holding Hannah to prevent her from getting out of the car. She's trying to get free, and Michael noted that Rowan was calm and seemed to be in control of himself. Anna managed to break free from Rowan and got out of the car, but by that time, Rowan had already set her ablaze. She was engulfed in flames. Michael told her to roll on the ground and he used his hose to douse the flames. He then extinguished the flames on Rowan and after hearing Hannah screamed something about the children,

Starting point is 00:23:40 he raced into his house to call emergency services. Michael returned to the scene to assist and was later admitted to hospital for burns to his face, eye, and arm which he obtained helping Hannah out of the car. While Michael was in the house, another bystander named Samantha Covey, saw flames and drove towards them. Seeing Hannah on the side of the road, she picked up the hose and came up. continued to put the fire out. Samantha sat with Hannah until emergency services arrived. She said that Hannah asked repeatedly about her children, asking if someone had gotten them out of the car and whether they were okay or not. Anna told Samantha that she pulled the car up upon seeing Michael, Rowan dropped the lighter setting her on fire. She said she had tried to stop him and again asked about her babies

Starting point is 00:24:24 in the car. Another neighbor named Carrie Fernandez heard Hannah's cries to call police and after seeing the scene, she also called emergency services. She was on the phone with dispatchers when the car exploded into flames. The fire extinguisher in hand, Carrie raced to the car and attempted to put out the fire. The vehicle began to roll backwards, and as people called for her to watch out, Hannah stood up and screamed, my kids. A man named Benjamin Young pulled up just as Hannah made her initial scream, and he also saw the car explode.

Starting point is 00:24:55 He stated, At that point, it sounded like a bomb went off. It was so loud, I felt the shockwaves. The car was engulfed in flames almost instantly. The car exploded about 10 meters from where I was. Lees would later learn that Rowan had put the Jerry can full of fuel right in front of Aaliyah, and it exploded right at her feet. While Rowan didn't have any fuel on him, each of the children did, as did Hannah.

Starting point is 00:25:22 As the car rolled backwards, Benjamin noticed Rowan dive into the front passenger seat, grab something and then jump back out again. Benjamin grabbed some wood from the back of his own car to try to stop the car from rolling backwards. As he ran towards the car, he heard other bystanders yelling, get them out, get them out, referring to the children. Benjamin saw little tray in his car seat. Sadly, the intensity of the fireman.

Starting point is 00:25:47 They couldn't get close enough to the vehicle to rescue any of the children. Rees scorely, another stranger trying to save the family noticed that when Rowan dove into the car, he had grabbed a knife. He yelled the warning to Carrie Fernandez, who was still trying to use the fire extinguisher on McCar, to back away from the now-armed Rowan. Rowan then made one final cowardly act. Kneeling on the ground, he put the tip of the knife towards his body and fell forward onto it, then curled up into a fetal position and died shortly thereafter. The damage was already done. In one short, heartbreaking morning, Rowan had killed Alia, Leana, and trained.

Starting point is 00:26:27 left Hannah burned all over her entire body fighting for her life. Hannah had third-degree burns to 97% of her body. She kept asking about her children. Were they okay? Did someone get them out of the car? Knowing how dire her situation was, they redirected her and said she needed to focus on herself for now. Hannah called her dad before she succumbed to unconsciousness.

Starting point is 00:26:54 As he picked up the phone, he couldn't hear anyone on the other end. He assumed it was a pocket dial or one of the kids playing with the phone. He would soon learn that it was in fact Hannah. She was unable to speak. He said, her last act of resistance was to reach out for her dad, but she couldn't talk to me. Hannah died at 4.50 p.m. later that day.

Starting point is 00:27:19 She was the last in the family to die. Post his death, a chilling note was found on Rowan's phone. It read, I'm finishing your game. I don't want to play it anymore. You can't fuck with someone's life like this and expect them to take it. I have told the kids that you love them.

Starting point is 00:27:38 They will miss you, I'm sure. At autopsy, it was found that Hannah died from multi-organ failure due to the fire. Alia, who was only six years old at the time of her death, died from the effects of the fire, including smoke inhalation. She had severe burns to 100% of her body. While she had toxic levels of carbon monoxide in her blood,

Starting point is 00:28:03 it is believed that that was not the cause of her death. This means Alia knew what was happening and was burned alive. Leanna, who was four years old at the time of her death, died from the effects of the fire, including direct thermal effects, the effects of smoke inhalation, and other combustion effects. Little Trey, only two years old, also died from the effects of the fire, including direct thermal effects and the effects of smoke inhalation and other combustion effects.

Starting point is 00:28:34 Rowan, who died from a stab wound to the heart, had no alcohol or other substances in his system at the time of his death. He also was not suffering from any disease or injury to his brain. The aftermath of this horrific crime impacted the whole of Australia in many ways. coercive control defined by the Queensland police as any adult to use violent or controlling behaviors towards their current or former intimate partner, family member, or unpaid care with the intention to control or coerce them was not well discussed within the community. Many people didn't realize it was a form of family violence, and as of May 26, 2025, it will be illegal in Queensland to use coercive control over someone.

Starting point is 00:29:19 Before this tragic story, while family violence was well known, the misconception that it had to be only physical violence existed. Other forms of family violence exists and can be just as deadly as physical violence. After the tragic events on February 19th, 2020, and his parents started a foundation called Small Steps for Hannah, whose mission in their own words is in their quest to honor Hannah, Aaliyah, Leanna, and Trey, and ensure that no family should endure this pain again. The Clark family have started a movement for change. Small steps for Hannah. But a halt to the incidences and severity of domestic and family violence in Australia.

Starting point is 00:30:01 Halt stands for Hannah, Alia, Leanna, and Trey. At an inquest into whether more could have been done to prevent these tragic events, the magistrate found Rowan Baxter was not mentally ill. He was a master of manipulation. I find it unlikely that any further actions taken by police officers service providers, friends or family members could have stopped Baxter from ultimately executing his murderous plans. Baxter made numerous appointments for counseling and with doctors. All of these actions were designed to assist him to contest the DVO and get what he wanted from the family

Starting point is 00:30:32 court process. He did not have any real wish to obtain counseling or address his problems. He manipulated doctors and psychologists. When Baxter concluded that he had totally lost control over Hannah, he killed her and her three children. Hannah, Aaliyah, Leanna, and Trey were laid to rest on March 9th, 2020. They were buried together in one coffin. And his uncle said the following words, he said, For many of us, felt like we had been shrouded in a shroud of darkness. It is only when we embrace this darkness that we can see the brightness of the stars shine through.

Starting point is 00:31:05 That is what Hannah, Aaliyah, Leanna, and Trey are, lights shining through their generation. Hannah's family remember her by the words of one of her last past, posts made to Facebook before her death. It read, I am a strong woman. I don't sit around feeling sorry for myself, nor will I ever let anyone mistreat me again. I don't respond to people trying to dictate to me or bring me down. I am a survivor and not a victim. I'm in control of my life and there is nothing I can't achieve. My girls will grow up to be strong women who understand their worth. Hannah's brother had these words for the family he had lost, said that Hannah was an amazing sister who was also his best friend, said of his sister,

Starting point is 00:31:46 was one of the greatest moms to walk the earth. Brown hair and brown eyes after you were born, dad heard brown-eyed girl by Van Morrison on the radio on the way home, and forever this would be his song for you. He described his nieces and nephew as beautiful children who reflected their mom. He said, O'Lea, you were everything a big sister should be, brave, strong, and quite bossy. Leanna, you were the rat bag, the little middle. There was so much of Hannah and you.

Starting point is 00:32:13 You were beautiful, sweet, and caring with an amazing imagination. You were the sweetest kid and a beautiful mermaid. Trey, mother's little man, and her best surprise. He heartbreakingly finished with, I am so sorry I couldn't protect you.

The Misery Machine - The Case of the Clarke-Baxter Family Massacre

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