Little girl, 6, stood up to her famous father - then he burned the whole family to death

On the surface, Rowan Baxter, 44, appeared to be a picture-perfect husband and father. The ex-New Zealand Rugby player and his fitness instructor wife, Hannah, 31, seemed to have a blissful life, but behind closed doors, the tale couldn't have been more different during their 11-year relationship.

Unbeknownst to other people, Rowan was abusing Hannah physically and mentally. After many years, one particular incident involving the couple's brave six-year-old daughter saw Hannah finally break away from her coercive husband - but Rowan refused to let go of control of his estranged wife and their children. During their turbulent relationship, Rowan controlled the clothes she wore, punished her for making jokes at work, isolated her from her family and demanded constant sex.

If there was a night when Hannah refused, he would punish her for days with the silent treatment. Friends also reportedly revealed that Rowan frequently spoke to Hannah in an extremely hostile manner, but it was witnessing the effect on her kids that finally prompted Hannah to declare she'd had enough.

The pair had three children together: daughters Aaliyah, six, and Laianah, four, plus a son, three-year-old Trey.

Hannah's "last straw" came in an incident witnessed by a schoolfriend's mum, Varvara Meli. Varvana explained that Rowan had come to pick up Aaliyah from school; however, the little girl got upset and asked to borrow a phone to ring her mum.

Despite all his intimidation, his courageous daughter Aaliyah remained prepared to confront him.

Aaliyah reassured her family she was fine, and Hannah later told a witness that Rowan was "horrible" to their daughter because she "stood up to him."

In a bid to keep her family safe Hannah moved back with her parents, whilst also securing a restraining order against her estranged husband and maintaining contact with police regarding his menacing ways.

After they separated in late 2019, Hannah feared for her life and was also worried Baxter would take the children, an inquest heard.

This lead Rowan to take horrific measures to prevent his family from escaping his grip. On the fateful day of February 19 2020, Hannah's mum left for work, saying her farewells and kissing her grandchildren.

Within an hour, Hannah had got her three children and was about to drive away when Rowan leapt into the passenger seat - clutching a petrol canister.

She screamed and tried to get the ex-rugby player out of the car, but he poured petrol all over her. Petrified, Hannah steered the car towards a neighbour who was cleaning his car and explained what was happening.

"Call the police, he's going to kill me. He's poured petrol on me," she screamed. Rowan was using all his might to keep her in the car, restraining her around the chest and arms.

In a matter of seconds, the car was engulfed in flames. A neighbour dashed towards the blaze to rescue Hannah and the children, his face getting scorched in the process.

Somehow, Hannah got out of the vehicle whilst on fire herself. But the children were trapped inside. Her neighbour used his house to extinguish the flames consuming Hannah, but the car exploded.

Rowan had also made it out of the car. Hannah was still conscious, explaining to everyone what had happened and that her children were inside the car. Tragically, no one could get to them due to the severe fire.

Rowan pulled out a knife and stabbed himself at the roadside, with Hannah still pleading for her children. Despite suffering full thickness burns over her entire body, she somehow found the strength to stand up and try to reach them.

"I hope he survives and rots in jail for the rest of his life," Hannah said to a paramedic.

"My babies are in the car, my children are in the car. Why didn't I just stay in the car with them?" Hannah said.

She was taken to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital in a critical condition, police said. She passed away later that day at 5:30 pm.

It took over an hour to put the car fire out, "the burnt bodies of Aaliyah, Laianahand Trey were found in the back seat of the car," the inquest into their deaths heard.

"They had sustained injuries that were clearly incompatible with life," the inquest found, adding that "They had been burnt so badly that they could not be visually identified."