Rowan Baxter’s family speaks after vicious murders: “Everyone else, they’re shocked – I’m not”
The cousin of family killer Rowan Baxter has spoken out about her family, saying he was an “angry child” while growing up together.
Alana Hampson told news.com.au that while she was estranged from her older cousin Rowan, she lived with him and his brother Charles as a teenager while going through foster care.
“He was an angry kid,” the 38-year-old admitted.
“There was a bit of cruelty there sometimes, little hints throughout his life. He would yell at you to get out of his room or swear at you. Rowan was like that real abrupt kid. Just one of those rough tumbling boys with attitude.”
42-year-old NRL Player Rowan Baxter burned his estranged wife Hannah Clarke and their three children to death last week in their family SUV before stabbing himself and dying.
In a 2004 newspaper interview, Rowan told reporters he had quit rugby union to join the Mt Albert Lions rugby league club after being repeatedly overlooked for selection by the Bay of Plenty Steamers.
“Word got back to me they (Bay of Plenty) thought I had anger problems,” Baxter told The Daily Post.
The 42-year-old was reportedly involved in two vicious brawls while playing club rugby for Te Puke in 2002 and 2003.
“That’s the way I play, I don’t regret it, that’s who I am,” Baxter said.
Ms Hampson’s mother, Dorothy Ann Baxter, is the sister of Rowan’s father, Charlie — one of nine brothers and sisters in the clan from New Zealand’s Tauranga region.
“I haven’t been around my family most of my life — I hate my family,” Ms Hampson told
“(He was) f***ed in the head. There was a lot of violence. The Baxters had a hard life. (One of my other cousins), his younger baby died. The baby coffin was put in the car and he did doughnuts.”
Ms Hampson said that while she herself hasn’t had “clean life”, her cousin’s acts are unforgiveable.
“I haven’t had a clean life myself but for someone to do that … I can’t believe anyone would do that. Someone told me you’ve got to forgive — you can’t forgive that,” she said.
While she last saw Rowan “a long time ago”, she says the horrific murders have left the family shell-shocked. “It’s affected all my aunties, they’re speechless,” she said.
Heart-stricken Dorothy Ann Baxter described Rowan as “a good boy” who “lost the plot”. Ms Baxter confirmed she hadn’t seen Rowan since he moved to Australia.
“He was always a good boy. I can’t understand,” she said.
“He’s lost the plot. I don’t know. He couldn’t handle it then one day he just lost it. It’s not good. But I know he wouldn’t do it out of his own mind so he had to be … lost it, just lost the plot. Some of us do. I’m not saying Rowan was good for what he did but people do lose the plot.”
Ms Baxter spoke of funeral arrangements for Rowan, saying: “Of course there’s going to be a funeral
“They’ve got to get him back here first, the cops have still got him haven’t they?”
She added, “We’re going to say goodbye to him. He’s going to be put with his mother. I’m just glad my mum wasn’t here because it would have killed her.”
But Ms Hampson says she is “definitely not going to the funeral”.
“I can’t bring myself to see that,” she said.
“It’s a bit hard to swallow. He can rot in hell for what he did to those kids.”