A former Australian Rugby player Rowan Baxter on Wednesday killed himself and three children, after setting their car on fire in apparent murder and suicide.
Rowan Baxter who was until his death a former New Zealand Warriors player was found in his car early Wednesday morning along with his wife, two young daughters, and his son. The wife is said to be fighting for life.
Local media reports that Hannah Baxter, 31, jumped from the vehicle and yelled ‘he’s poured petrol on me’ before a series of explosions.
Witnesses said she managed to crawl out the car and rolled onto the footpath ‘in flames’, when a neighbour rushed to her aid and hosed her down
The blast was so big the whole street was clouded in smoke, causing one resident to throw up when she realised what had happened. One man tried to rescue the children as the car rolled down the street in flames and emerged from the wreckage in tears saying ‘babies in the car’.
Rowan Baxter allegedly stabbed himself with a knife during the incident. The couple had recently separated and shut down the fitness business they ran together.
The Courier Mail reported that the couple were in a custody battle and friends of Rowan Baxter were worried about his mental health.
In the run up to the tragedy, Rowan Baxter had flooded Facebook with pictures of his children including one post which said:
‘Goodnight my babies, Daddy loves you’. Weightlifting friend Joey 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. ‘It’s just unbelievable that he could do this.
Detective Inspector Mark Thompson told reporters police were yet to ascertain whether the explosion was a murder suicide or a tragic accident.
‘I’ve seen some horrific scenes,’ Mr Thompson said. ‘It’s a terrible thing to be presented with.’ He said there were ‘other areas of interest’ and anticipated that other crime scenes would be declared.
The Baxter family home has been cordoned with police tape, while flowers and toys have been laid at the scene where the children died, believed to be near Ms Baxter’s parents’ home. Detective
Thompson added: ‘How the fire actually occurred has not been ascertained at the moment. ‘For us to call it a murder-suicide or a tragic accident, it’s inappropriate for us to try to do that. ‘That’s exactly what we’re investigating, what exactly happened today.’