“I think it was more to do with that he felt sick knowing that she was working for me, and I was supposedly his mate and that I should be on his side.”
Hannah Clarke and her children Trey, Laianah and Aaliyah.Credit:Stacey Roberts – Facebook
Lewis Bartlett also worked at the Athlete’s Foot outlet with Ms Clarke.
He said Ms Clarke told colleagues one day why she never wore shorts to work – because her husband would not allow her to.
Ms Clarke also told him she was convinced Baxter had bugged her phone and had access to her emails for months.
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Mr Bartlett said Ms Clarke believed her estranged husband would hurt her, and he might use the children as a bargaining chip against her. But she never thought Baxter would hurt their children.
A month or so before her death, Ms Clarke asked Mr Bartlett about making a will.
“She said: ‘If something happens to me, I want to make sure that my kids are looked after’,” Mr Bartlett told the inquest.
“I replied: ‘Nothing is going to happen to you, Hannah’.”
“She said: ‘No, he is going to try to kill me’.”
Another of Baxter’s friends, Eoin Coffey, sent a statement to the court describing examples of Baxter’s controlling behaviour.
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Mr Coffey said Baxter told him he had left a recording device, an iPad, at one house, and he had an old iPhone recording at Ms Clarke’s house.
Christopher Ensbey was the pastor at the church Baxter and Ms Clarke attended, and he spoke to both about their marriage. He recounted a phone call from Ms Clarke on December 7, 2019.
“Hannah said there had been no physical abuse, but there was pressure in other areas – one of Rowan’s control mechanisms was that he expected to have sex with her every day and she felt very controlled in that area,” he told the inquest on Wednesday.
Mr Ensby spoke to Baxter on December 22, 2019. He did not hear from him again.
“When he went quiet like that, I assumed it was good news because he only ever reached out when [his marriage] was going poorly,” he said.
“And the last I heard at this church service was that he [Baxter] was seeing his kids, they were sleeping over occasionally – it sounded like there was forward motion.”
The inquest continues.
For immediate support, phone Lifeline on 13 11 14, BeyondBlue on 1300 46 36 or the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800. Find a range of mental health tests, tools and support resources at beyondblue.org.au and blackdoginstitute.org.au.
Killer husband expected daily sex and bugged the house: Hannah Clarke inquest
Source: Philippines Alive
