Man wrote 'sweet dreams my babies' on Facebook before dousing wife, three kids in petrol, setting them alight
The Facebook page of a man who set fire to his estranged wife's car while she and their three children were still inside and then fatally stabbed himself in the chest with a knife was littered with playful videos and tributes to them.
Former New Zealand Warriors player Rowan Charles Baxter, 42, killed his three children, Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3, when he doused his wife Hannah's white Kia Sportage with petrol and set it on fire. His wife, Hannah, had managed to escape the flames but suffered grievous injuries and died at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s hospital on Wednesday less than 24 hours after the horrific incident.
Baxter and Hannah had separated from each other late last year and shut down the business they ran together, Integr8 Fitness, based at Capalaba.
However, posts on his Facebook page seem to indicate he was still on friendly terms with them as recently as last month. In a video he posted on January 8, which he captioned, "Sweet dreams my babies xo. Love you to the moon and back #nowords #dad #myworld" he can be seen wrestling with Trey and pretending to break his neck.
A woman who is filming the video can be heard laughing at Baxter's antics, though Trey was less than happy at what was happening and ends up running away in tears.
In another video, from September, Baxter is holding a handstand while the three children try to get him to fall by hitting him with pool noodles. "Human piñatas. When mums away the kids will play & that’s including me. They smashed me for about an hour & the laughs were just uncontrollable … #daddydaycare #myworld #familyfun #handstands #fun" he wrote.
However, the same post seemed to indicate that problems were brewing between him and Hannah. "Chin up brother everything will work out just hang in there my bro a lot of people care about you and the situation your facing," one user commented.
The pair had reportedly been involved in a bitter custody battle for the children that had seen police called to their residence over violent incidents.
The page was taken down by Facebook for violating its Violence and Criminal Behaviour policy after the company received a notification from law enforcement about the murders, but not before angry users flooded it hundreds from comments from users around the world.
"Hope you rot in hell you putrid f***in’ scum. Too much of a coward to only take yourself. Dog," one wrote. "You piece of s***, killing your kids because you’re not man enough to deal with life, you are scum," another commented.