The unemployed son of killer dad Rowan Baxter, who doused his wife Hannah Clarke and three young children in petrol before burning them alive, is suing her parents for a share of their daughter’s $3.6 million estate.
Isaiah Jesse Rowan Baxter filed a case in the Brisbane Supreme Court last week against Lloyd and Suzanne Clarke for a slice of the murdered 31-year-old mum’s assets on the grounds that he needs the money to ‘build a future’.
The 23-year-old, who also suffered at the hands of his controlling father, received $4,244 from Rowan’s superannuation and $40,000 in crime victims compensation.
While Mr Baxter had a good relationship Hannah and considers the Clarkes to be his ‘second grandparents’, he said the elderly couple own a home and have benefited from $1.5 million in fundraising.
Isaiah Jesse Rowan Baxter (centre), the unemployed son of killer dad Rowan Baxter (left), who doused his wife Hannah Clarke (right) and three young children in petrol before burning them alive, is suing her parents for a share of their daughter’s $3.6 million estate
Baxter filed a case in the Brisbane Supreme Court last week against Lloyd and Suzanne Clarke (pictured at Hannah’s memorial), claiming his ‘second grandparents’ own a home and have benefited from $1.5 million in fundraising – while he will need ongoing psychological treatment
‘My relationship with Rowan was strained for my whole life as a result of his abusive and controlling behaviour towards me … and towards my mother and Hannah,’ he said in his affidavit, according to The Courier-Mail.
He explained that the violent deaths of his father, stepmother and half-siblings Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3, were ‘incredible traumatising’ on him and he believes he will need psychology treatment for life-long suffering.
On February 19, 2019, Rowan ambushed Hannah and his children on their morning school run at Camp Hill in Brisbane when he jumped in the car, covered them in fuel and set them alight.
The cowardly father-of-four killed himself while trying to stop heroic neighbours from saving his screaming children, who perished while trapped in their car seats.
Hannah Clarke (pictured with children Trey, Aaliyah and Laianah) was murdered by her estranged husband Rowan Baxter, who posted slurs about her on social media
Mr Baxter (pictured), who was 12 when Rowan and his mother separated, also said he took in the family dog, Savannah, following the tragedy and has paid $3,500 in vet bills so far
A former player for the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL, Baxter subjected his wife to years of abuse before ultimately killing her and her children in an attack that shocked Australia
‘I believe I will continue to suffer for the rest of my life,’ he told the court, adding that he filed the law suit to help in ‘building my future’ and ‘moving on with my life as best I can’.
Mr Baxter, who was 12 when Rowan and his mother separated, also said he took in the family dog, Savannah, following the tragedy and has paid $3,500 in vet bills so far.
According to court documents, Mr Baxter filed the claim within days of learning his father’s $1,823,258 life insurance would go to Hannah’s estate, and not him.
He also stated that he found out in March he was able to make a claim for his stepmother’s assets, but chose not to because he thought he would get Rowan’s life insurance.
‘I believe that they both would have intended to provide for me financially in the event of their deaths’ Mr Baxter told the court.
Lloyd and Suzanne Clarke embrace at a vigil for their daughter Hannah and her three children
Pictured: A tow truck operator removes Ms Clarke’s car after Baxter set it on fire in the leafy Brisbane suburb of Camp Hill
He claimed his father, who had no assets, did not pay his mother child support or contribute to his education payments.
Hannah and Rowan lived with their children in a rental property, before she fled and started living with her parents due to ongoing emotional and physical abuse.
In a revealing podcast with The Guardian last week, the Clarkes recounted how Baxter would rape Hannah daily while muttering ‘awful’ things in her ear, make her steal clothes from stores and constantly told her she looked ‘terrible’.
Mr Baxter claimed the Clarkes got $1.8 million in life insurance for Hannah, and another $1.8 million for Rowan because the policy stipulated the payment must go to her, even after she died.
He also said the elderly parents received the $1.5 million raised from a Go Fund Me campaign, which was donated by kind-hearted people to cover funeral and living costs.
Hannah’s estranged husband Rowan Charles Baxter ambushed the family on their morning school run in Brisbane and doused their car in petrol. Hannah is pictured with her grandmother and children Trey, three, Laianah, four, and Aaliyah, six
In his affidavit, Mr Baxter said he tried to maintain a relationship with Hannah and his siblings when Rowan was not home. Pictured: Hannah with her son, Trey
‘To the best of my knowledge Hannah’s parents are the beneficiaries of her intestacy … To the best of my knowledge they also own their own home and are financially sound,’ he said.
The young man now lives with his mother and stepfather in North Lakes, north of Brisbane, but stayed with his father and Hannah three days a week as a teenager.
The arrangement lasted until he arrived home one day at the age 17 to find his dad had cleared his belongings and asked him to leave.
In his affidavit, Mr Baxter said he tried to maintain a relationship with Hannah and his siblings when Rowan was not home.
He started seeing a psychiatrist in 2013, but his anti-anxiety and anti-depression medication in April 2020 following the brutal attack on his family.
Mr Baxter, who has acknowledged the struggles Hannah had with his father, also said he is unable to get Centrelink because he was born in New Zealand and does not have a driver’s licence.
Hannah Clarke’s parents Suzanne and Lloyd during the funeral for Hannah and her three children Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey in Brisbane, Monday, March 9
Pictured: a vigil for Hannah Clarke and her three children Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3, at Bill Hewitt Reserve in Brisbane, February 23, 2019
There is no court date for the case and the Clarkes have not filed a response.
If it goes to trial, the family will be forced to disclose the size and location of the assets in the estate.
In February this year, Mr Baxter paid tribute to Hannah by uploading a photo on Instagram with #SmallSteps4Hannah, the name of an anti-domestic violence charity her parents Lloyd and Suzanne have set up.
He added heart and butterfly emoticons and also shared a fundraiser for Hannah’s family.
He also changed his social media profile pictures at the time to an image of Hannah in heaven with angel wings alongside her children.
Source: Daily Mail AU
