Queensland Police have confirmed they were aware of domestic violence issues between Hannah Clarke and Rowan Baxter.
In comments that have sparked outrage among the public and domestic violence advocates, Detective Inspector Mark Thompson said the force is keeping an “open mind” and would consider if Baxter had been “driven too far” into deliberately setting his wife and three young children on fire at a Brisbane street on Wednesday morning during a school run.
Clarke, 31-year-old fitness instructor, died less than 24 hours after being pulled out of the burning vehicle. Her three children – Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3 – died in the car.
On Thursday, Thompson said the police had dealt with Clarke and Baxter in relation to domestic violence issues in the past. The Vulnerable Persons Unit had been offering the pair and their three children counselling and support through a number of community services, including the Brisbane Domestic Violence Centre.
A domestic violence order was also placed against Baxter in January to protect Clarke and the children, 7News reported.
In a series of text messages obtained by The Courier-Mail, a family member of Baxter told Clarke she had done the right thing in leaving.
“I’m so glad I got out when I did,” Clarke wrote to the woman earlier this month. “I’m OK, struggling, but I know I’ve made the right decision.”
Friends and family members of Clarke said Baxter’s actions were not a surprise, with allegations that Baxter had previously hacked her phone and isolated her from her loved ones.
Thompson said police would keep an “open mind” about Baxter’s motives in their investigation.
“We need to look at every piece of information and to put it bluntly there are probably people out there in the community that are deciding which side, so to speak, to take in this investigation,” he said.
“Is this an issue of a woman suffering significant domestic violence and her and her children perishing at the hands of the husband, or is it an instance of a husband being driven too far by issues he’s suffered by certain circumstances into committing acts of this form?
“The dynamics of a family that are broken and estranged are particularly poignant to this investigation … and very hard to decipher without us being able to put some sort of clarification around what’s happened.”
Thompson’s statement has drawn widespread backlash. Victims’ advocate Renee Eaves said the comment suggests the police had not been taking her safety seriously.
“This … is nothing short of a flashing billboard about the mindset by some police around domestic violence,” she told The Guardian.
“If police are now implying that a murdered woman might be at fault, then that to me raises critical questions about whether they took the threat to her safety seriously enough.
“A calculated monster has killed a woman and her children in the most abhorrent way anyone could imagine. Even when the worst has occurred, they’re still questioning the woman, and still looking for reasons to justify this man’s behaviour.”
Politicians have also condemned Thompson. “Sorry, there’s no such thing as being driven too far. There is never an excuse for family violence. These kinds of attitudes are a serious part of the problem,” Sydney MP Tanya Plibersek said.
“We don’t fumble about like this when terrorists kill – why does family violence bring out the hand-wringers for killers of women and kids?” Brian Mitchell, MP for Lyons said.
On average, one woman in Australia is killed by their current or former partner every week.
If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse, you can contact the 24-hour support line 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 for more information on support and services that can help your situation.
