Former rugby league player Rowan Baxter, wife and children killed in Brisbane car fire - Ruck

Former rugby league player Rowan Baxter, wife and children killed in Brisbane car fire

Rowan Baxter regularly posted on Facebook how much he loved his three children.

Now the ex-NRL star, who played for New Zealand Warriors, is alleged to have jumped into and torched his estranged wife’s car with his three children inside before stabbing himself to death in what police have labelled “a horrific scene” in Brisbane, Australia.

Hannah Baxter, aged 31, died later in hospital from extensive burns. She had reportedly jumped from the car yelling: “He’s poured petrol on me”.

A crime scene is in place in the Camp Hill area in the city’s east.

“It’s a horrific scene,” Det Insp Mark Thompson told reporters. “It is very early in the investigation, but the vehicle was fully involved in fire upon police arriving.”

Police were first called to the scene at 08:30 local time on Wednesday (21:30 GMT on Tuesday).

They found Rowan Baxter, 42, and his three children aged six, four and three dead in the car.

Following his NRL career, Baxter became a fitness coach in Brisbane, working with AFL and Super Rugby clubs in Australia, before he founded a CrossFit gym with his wife.

EDITORS PICKS: