- Highlight
- #1
How cowardly rampage unfolded: Evil father stabbed himself to death in the street as his three children burned alive inside petrol-doused car and neighbours fought to save his wife's life with a garden hose
www.dailymail.co.uk
A father who torched his estranged wife's car with their three children inside escaped the inferno and stabbed himself to death as he watched his children perish.
Rowan Charles Baxter's three children, Aaliyah, six, Laianah, four, and Trey, three, all died when the family's white SUV was set alight at Camp Hill, in Brisbane's south east, at about 8.20am on Wednesday.
Hannah Baxter, the children's mother, 31, was driving the Kia Sportage and is in a critical condition in hospital after suffering 'significant' burns in the blaze.
The 42-year-old former NRL player jumped in the car as Ms Baxter strapped the children in to do the school drop off.
She was parked down the road from her parents home. Aaron Snell, a neighbour who witnessed the horror said he initially thought he was watching a road rage attack before he realised the gravity of the situation.
By the time he reacted, Ms Baxter had escaped from the car and was rolling on the footpath in an attempt to smother the flames. A Good Samaritan was also trying to hose her down to stop the fire.
Witnesses said they heard her shouting 'he's poured petrol on me' at the time.
Baxter was also still alive.
He was across the road, but returned to the car to salvage a knife. He then stabbed himself in the chest, Mr Snell said.
Mr Snell, who is trained in CPR, said he was trying to assess whether he could perform it on Baxter because he was 'just in all matter of states,' he told The Courier Mail.
'As I came to the front after calling Triple-0, I saw her (Hannah). She was smoking, her body was smoking and on fire,' Mr Snell said.
By this point, others were on the scene and trying to put out the fire in an attempt to save the children, who were still trapped inside.
Mr Snell believes Baxter attempted to stop them helping his children in his final moments.
'He was so angry and just going absolutely crazy. It appeared like he wanted [the car] to burn,' he said.
Baxter, an ex-New Zealand Warriors player, stabbed himself with a knife during the horrific attack on his family.
The couple had recently separated and shut down the business they ran together, Integr8 Fitness, based at Capalaba.
The car blaze occurred just metres from Hannah's parents' house.
In recent months, Baxter flooded his Facebook site with photos and videos of his children, describing them as 'my world'.
'T-R-E-Y, love you to the moon and back,' he posted six days ago.
'Goodnight my babies, Daddy loves you,' he posted a month ago.
On December 30, Baxter posted a photo of his three children saying 'I miss you all' .
Friends were worried.
Weightlifting friend Joey Abraham wrote to Baxter four days ago: 'Chin up brother everything will work out just hang in there my bro.
'A lot of people care about you and the situation you're facing.'
A reeling Mr Abraham told Daily Mail Australia after the incident: 'Rowan was in a real bad place there for a bit because of the separation.
'If you knew Rowan when he at his best and to see him like last week then you know how far he'd fallen.
'He was just a shadow of the person he used to be.
'It's just unbelievable that he could do this.
'They were beautiful kids, they were a beautiful family.'
Queensland Police officers were called to a family violence incident that allegedly involved the couple just last month, The Courier-Mail reported.
But the family were not involved in any Family Court or Federal Circuit Court proceedings.
Rowan Baxter's business website described him as an accomplished body weight trainer for NRL and AFL rugby league teams.
Social media photos showed Baxter training with Brisbane Broncos staff and posing with WWE's The Undertaker and All Black Nathan Harris.
Meanwhile, Ms Baxter described herself as 'an enthusiastic, passionate mother of three'.
She proudly told how she trained through each of her pregnancies and has won gold and silver medals for trampolining at international events.
Footy star 'sets car on fire killing himself and his three children'
Rowan Baxter, 42, who torched his estranged wife's car with their three children inside escaped the inferno and stabbed himself to death in their Brisbane street as he watched his kids die.
A father who torched his estranged wife's car with their three children inside escaped the inferno and stabbed himself to death as he watched his children perish.
Rowan Charles Baxter's three children, Aaliyah, six, Laianah, four, and Trey, three, all died when the family's white SUV was set alight at Camp Hill, in Brisbane's south east, at about 8.20am on Wednesday.
Hannah Baxter, the children's mother, 31, was driving the Kia Sportage and is in a critical condition in hospital after suffering 'significant' burns in the blaze.
The 42-year-old former NRL player jumped in the car as Ms Baxter strapped the children in to do the school drop off.
She was parked down the road from her parents home. Aaron Snell, a neighbour who witnessed the horror said he initially thought he was watching a road rage attack before he realised the gravity of the situation.
By the time he reacted, Ms Baxter had escaped from the car and was rolling on the footpath in an attempt to smother the flames. A Good Samaritan was also trying to hose her down to stop the fire.
Witnesses said they heard her shouting 'he's poured petrol on me' at the time.
Baxter was also still alive.
He was across the road, but returned to the car to salvage a knife. He then stabbed himself in the chest, Mr Snell said.
Mr Snell, who is trained in CPR, said he was trying to assess whether he could perform it on Baxter because he was 'just in all matter of states,' he told The Courier Mail.
'As I came to the front after calling Triple-0, I saw her (Hannah). She was smoking, her body was smoking and on fire,' Mr Snell said.
By this point, others were on the scene and trying to put out the fire in an attempt to save the children, who were still trapped inside.
Mr Snell believes Baxter attempted to stop them helping his children in his final moments.
'He was so angry and just going absolutely crazy. It appeared like he wanted [the car] to burn,' he said.
Baxter, an ex-New Zealand Warriors player, stabbed himself with a knife during the horrific attack on his family.
The couple had recently separated and shut down the business they ran together, Integr8 Fitness, based at Capalaba.
The car blaze occurred just metres from Hannah's parents' house.
In recent months, Baxter flooded his Facebook site with photos and videos of his children, describing them as 'my world'.
'T-R-E-Y, love you to the moon and back,' he posted six days ago.
'Goodnight my babies, Daddy loves you,' he posted a month ago.
On December 30, Baxter posted a photo of his three children saying 'I miss you all' .
Friends were worried.
Weightlifting friend Joey Abraham wrote to Baxter four days ago: 'Chin up brother everything will work out just hang in there my bro.
'A lot of people care about you and the situation you're facing.'
A reeling Mr Abraham told Daily Mail Australia after the incident: 'Rowan was in a real bad place there for a bit because of the separation.
'If you knew Rowan when he at his best and to see him like last week then you know how far he'd fallen.
'He was just a shadow of the person he used to be.
'It's just unbelievable that he could do this.
'They were beautiful kids, they were a beautiful family.'
Queensland Police officers were called to a family violence incident that allegedly involved the couple just last month, The Courier-Mail reported.
But the family were not involved in any Family Court or Federal Circuit Court proceedings.
Rowan Baxter's business website described him as an accomplished body weight trainer for NRL and AFL rugby league teams.
Social media photos showed Baxter training with Brisbane Broncos staff and posing with WWE's The Undertaker and All Black Nathan Harris.
Meanwhile, Ms Baxter described herself as 'an enthusiastic, passionate mother of three'.
She proudly told how she trained through each of her pregnancies and has won gold and silver medals for trampolining at international events.
