Clarke family They're always with us'

THE FAMILY OF MURDER VICTIM HANNAH CLARKE REVEAL THEIR GREATEST WISH THIS CHRISTMAS

- Kylie Walters 

As families across the country prepare to celebrate Christmas after a difficult year, the relatives of Hannah Clarke and her three children can’t even begin to contemplate how they will face the festive season following their brutal murders.

“We know Christmas is going to be pretty tough, pretty empty this year,” Hannah’s mum Sue tells WHO. “When we think back to last Christmas, we had Hannah and the kids with us under our roof and we were all working together to rebuild their lives and give them a fresh start. It was so loud and boisterous and there was just so much love and happiness in the house.”

From the outside, Hannah, 32, appeared to have it all. She was a mother to three gorgeous and healthy children, daughters Aaliyah, 6, and Laianah, 4, and son Trey, 3, and ran a thriving gym with her husband Rowan Baxter.

But behind closed doors, Baxter, 42, terrorised her with his controlling behaviour. Last December, Hannah made the brave decision to walk away from her abusive husband, taking the kids and seeking refuge with her parents Lloyd and Sue for support.

On the morning of February 19, he took his revenge – taking the lives of his family in a tragic murder-suicide on a quiet Brisbane street that shocked the nation. As Hannah strapped her kids into the car to drop them at school, Baxter pounced into the passenger seat, dousing them with petrol before setting it alight.

After preventing bystanders from helping his family as he watched them burn, the former NRL player cowardly stabbed himself to death.