On Wednesday, former National Rugby League (NRL) player Rowan Baxter, 42, reportedly doused his estranged wife Hannah Baxter, 31, in gasoline and set her and their three children on fire to be burned alive in a car.
Hannah reportedly made it out of the car while engulfed in flames screaming that Rowan had poured gasoline on her as she fought to save her babies. Rowan, it has been reported, left the accident and died of self-inflected knife wounds in an apparent suicide.
Rowan, according to The Daily Mail, set the family’s white SUV aflame on Wednesday morning at Camp Hill, in Brisbane, Australia. “Baxter survived the blast but stabbed himself in the chest on the sidewalk next to the car as locals desperately tried to free the children trapped inside,” the report outlined.
All three children, 6-year-old Aaliyah, 4-year-old Laianah, and 3-year-old Trey, perished on Wednesday. Hannah was brought to a hospital, but later succumbed to her injuries.
One witness, reported The Daily Mail, claimed Hannah screamed, “he’s poured petrol on me.”
“The former New Zealand Warriors player stabbed himself after the blast and begged first responders not to put out the flames on the car,” the report said.
MOTHER DIES: Hannah Baxter, the mother badly burned in the deliberately lit Brisbane car fire which killed her three…
Posted by 10 News First Adelaide on Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Det. Insp. Mark Thompson called the scene “horrific,” while speaking to reporters on Wednesday morning, The Guardian reported.
“It will be a horrific thing for police and emergency services to deal with in the coming days,” said Thompson.
“We’ve all got different experiences in life. I’ve seen some horrific scenes, this is up there with the [worst] of them,” he added.
“Preliminary investigations indicate the woman was driving the car and the man was in the front passenger seat prior to the incident,” a police report said, noting, “A man who assisted in rescuing the woman from the vehicle sustained burns and was transported to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital for treatment.”
According to The Daily Mail, Rowan posted a video to Facebook of himself playing with his children about a month ago:
Baxter uploaded to his Facebook account about a month ago, the three children giggled as he took turns grabbing them by the neck and pushing them away from him.
Trey, who was still in diapers at the time, eventually grew tired of the game after having his head slammed into a bed and ran off camera in tears.
Baxter laughed and continued playing with his two older girls.
The video was met with messages of support from his friends, who said he was teaching his children to have a thick skin.
Hannah and Rowan ran a gym together called Integr8 and even created a video, as seen below, to advertise their services. According to reporting from The Guardian, the gym stopped operating within the last few months.
“By far the best trainers I have ever experienced,” reads a review posted to the gym’s website from a woman named Erika. “They are so passionate about what they do and care so much about their members, and for their member to reach their goals.”
“I’ve been at Integr8 for 4 months now and love it more every week. From the moment I joined the welcome was warm and the vibe was like nothing I’d experienced,” praised another reviewer.
“Rowan and Hannah are top notch athletes with a wealth of knowledge in various areas of fitness,” a review from Sima said.
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