A detective has been removed from a murder-suicide investigation in Australia after saying a man who torched his wife and children in a horrific car fire "may have been driven too far”.
Hannah Baxter, 31, and her three children - aged six, four, and three - were killed after her estranged husband and ex-rugby league player Rowan Baxter doused his family in petrol and lit them on fire during a school run in Brisbane on Wednesday.
Ms Baxter managed to escape the burning SUV but later died in hospital with extensive burns. Her children all persished in the vehicle, while her husband reportedly stabbed himself to death.
At a press conference on Thursday, Detective Inspector Mark Thompson said police “needed to look at every piece of information" but that it could be a case of a husband “being driven too far by issues that he’s suffered”.
He added: "To put it bluntly, there are probably people out there in the community that are deciding which side to take, so to speak, in this investigation.
"Is this an issue of a woman suffering significant domestic violence and her and her children perishing at the hands of the husband? Or is this an instance of a husband being driven too far by issues that he's suffered, by certain circumstances, into committing acts of this form?"
He added: "That's why I want people to come and speak to us. If we are going to build a complete picture as to what has occurred, then we need to speak to everyone."
After his comments, Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carrol said Inspector Thompson had volunteered to stand aside when she asked him to remove himself from the investigation.
"In fairness to Mark and myself and the agency, we want to remove the noise and concentrate on the issue," she said.
"There is a mother and three children who have been murdered and I want to concentrate on that."
Speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation she again criticised his comments, saying: "I apologise for what was said and how it was said. Phraseology was completely wrong and the words and way it was said should not have been used.
"I sincerely apologise to the community and to victims about the way it was put."
She added that Inspector Thompson was “distraught and gutted” after listening back to his own comments.
"When he looks back, and I know he's listened to it, he cannot believe how he has phrased that," she said.
"He, like the rest of us, believes that domestic violence is nothing but a scourge on society."
Domestic violence campaigners slammed the comments as “victim-blaming at its worst”.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison led tributes to the victims on Thursday, saying Australians were "shocked, saddened and devastated" by the deaths.
Mr Baxter, 42, played for the New Zealand Warriors in Australia's National Rugby League football competition.
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