London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Nov 25, 2025

Murders spark calls for landmark police trial in Australia

Murders spark calls for landmark police trial in Australia

A landmark trial of a specialist domestic violence police station has been recommended by a coroner after two murders that shocked Australia.
Hannah Clarke, and her children, and Doreen Langham were burned to death by their ex-partners in Queensland.

Magistrate Jane Bentley this week found authorities missed or ignored signs that both women would be killed.

The trial was among several recommendations she made to improve responses to domestic violence.

Magistrate Bentley said the new model police station should have specialist police officers, support workers, a child safety officer and a lawyer to provide legal advice to police and victims.

Such police stations in countries like Brazil and India have reduced the female homicide rate, she noted, citing expert evidence given at one of the inquests.

Other recommendations included better training for police and government funding for men's behavior change programs.

Rowan Baxter ambushed Hannah Clarke and the couple's children in Brisbane in February 2020, dousing them in petrol and setting their car alight before killing himself.

The three children - Aaliyah aged six, Laianah, four, and Trey, three - died in the car.

Ms Clarke, who had suffered severe burns to everything but the soles of her feet, died in hospital hours later.

The 31-year-old had separated from Baxter in the months before the murders, and had repeatedly sought police help over domestic violence, securing court orders.

Her family have told how Baxter became increasingly verbally abusive and controlling - dictating what she wore and monitoring where she went - towards the end of the relationship.

On Wednesday Magistrate Bentley concluded all the agencies that dealt with the increasingly scared woman had failed to recognise the "extreme risk" she would be killed.

"That failure probably came about because Baxter had not been violent and had no relevant criminal history," she said.

But even if authorities had realized the risk, she said it was "unlikely" they could have stopped Baxter from "executing his murderous plans".

"He was not mentally ill, he was a master of manipulation," she said.

"Her fears were genuine and realistic and ultimately confirmed in the very worst way."

She noted a missed opportunity to charge Baxter after he breached a domestic violence order, but found that the support Ms Clarke was given was, overall, "adequate and appropriate".

It was a different story for Ms Langham.

Magistrate Bentley on Monday found police "failed to take even the most basic steps" to protect the 49-year-old from ex-partner Gary Hely.

She died in a house fire lit by Hely in February 2021, despite contact with 16 different police officers, telling them how he had broken into her home, threatened her life and was harassing her on the phone.

The inquest earlier this year heard the man had a "significant" history of domestic violence interstate and had breached protective orders several times in the weeks before the fire.

Magistrate Bentley said there were countless opportunities for intervention.

"The police officers failed to protect her and prevent her death," she said.

"If all complaints had been dealt with properly Hely would likely not have killed Ms Langham and himself."

The Queensland attorney-general has said the government will carefully consider all the coroner's recommendations and respond soon.

But Ms Clarke's parents hope other states adopt them too.

On average, one Australian woman is murdered every nine days by a current or former partner and police respond to a domestic violence call every two minutes.

"It's not just a Queensland problem," Ms Clarke said, speaking after the inquest closed.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Economy Stalls as Reeves Faces First Budget Test
UK Economy’s Weak Start Adds Pressure on Prime Minister Starmer
UK Government Acknowledges Billionaire Exodus Amid Tax Rise Concerns
UK Budget 2025: Markets Brace as Chancellor Faces Fiscal Tightrope
UK Unveils Strategic Plan to Secure Critical Mineral Supply Chains
UK Taskforce Calls for Radical Reset of Nuclear Regulation to Cut Costs and Accelerate Build
UK Government Launches Consultation on Major Overhaul of Settlement Rules
Google Struggles to Meet AI Demand as Infrastructure, Energy and Supply-Chain Gaps Deepen
Car Parts Leader Warns Europe Faces Heavy Job Losses in ‘Darwinian’ Auto Shake-Out
Arsenal Move Six Points Clear After Eze’s Historic Hat-Trick in Derby Rout
Wealthy New Yorkers Weigh Second Homes as the ‘Mamdani Effect’ Ripples Through Luxury Markets
Families Accuse OpenAI of Enabling ‘AI-Driven Delusions’ After Multiple Suicides
UK Unveils Critical-Minerals Strategy to Break China Supply-Chain Grip
Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” Extends U.K. No. 1 Run to Five Weeks
UK VPN Sign-Ups Surge by Over 1,400 % as Age-Verification Law Takes Effect
Former MEP Nathan Gill Jailed for Over Ten Years After Taking Pro-Russia Bribes
Majority of UK Entrepreneurs Regard Government as ‘Anti-Business’, Survey Shows
UK’s Starmer and US President Trump Align as Geneva Talks Probe Ukraine Peace Plan
UK Prime Minister Signals Former Prince Andrew Should Testify to US Epstein Inquiry
Royal Navy Deploys HMS Severn to Shadow Russian Corvette and Tanker Off UK Coast
China’s Wedding Boom: Nightclubs, Mountains and a Demographic Reset
Fugees Founding Member Pras Michel Sentenced to 14 Years in High-Profile US Foreign Influence Case
WhatsApp’s Unexpected Rise Reshapes American Messaging Habits
United States: Judge Dressed Up as Elvis During Hearings – and Was Forced to Resign
Johnson Blasts ‘Incoherent’ Covid Inquiry Findings Amid Report’s Harsh Critique of His Government
Lord Rothermere Secures £500 Million Deal to Acquire Telegraph Titles
Maduro Tightens Security Measures as U.S. Strike Threat Intensifies
U.S. Envoys Deliver Ultimatum to Ukraine: Sign Peace Deal by Thursday or Risk Losing American Support
Zelenskyy Signals Progress Toward Ending the War: ‘One of the Hardest Moments in History’ (end of his business model?)
U.S. Issues Alert Declaring Venezuelan Airspace a Hazard Due to Escalating Security Conditions
The U.S. State Department Announces That Mass Migration Constitutes an Existential Threat to Western Civilization and Undermines the Stability of Key American Allies
Students Challenge AI-Driven Teaching at University of Staffordshire
Pikeville Medical Center Partners with UK’s Golisano Children’s Network to Expand Pediatric Care
Germany, France and UK Confirm Full Support for Ukraine in US-Backed Security Plan
UK Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods Face Rising Backlash as Pandemic Schemes Unravel
UK Records Coldest Night of Autumn as Sub-Zero Conditions Sweep the Country
UK at Risk of Losing International Doctors as Workforce Exodus Grows, Regulator Warns
ASU Launches ASU London, Extending Its Innovation Brand to the UK Education Market
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Visit China in January as Diplomatic Reset Accelerates
Google Launches Voluntary Buyouts for UK Staff Amid AI-Driven Company Realignment
UK braces for freezing snap as snow and ice warnings escalate
Majority of UK Novelists Fear AI Could Displace Their Work, Cambridge Study Finds
UK's Carrier Strike Group Achieves Full Operational Capability During NATO Drill in Mediterranean
Trump and Mamdani to Meet at the White House: “The Communist Asked”
Nvidia Again Beats Forecasts, Shares Jump in After-Hours Trading
Wintry Conditions Persist Along UK Coasts After Up to Seven Centimetres of Snow
UK Inflation Eases to 3.6 % in October, Opening Door for Rate Cut
UK Accelerates Munitions Factory Build-Out to Reinforce Warfighting Readiness
UK Consumer Optimism Plunges Ahead of November Budget
A Decade of Innovation Stagnation at Apple: The Cook Era Critique
×