The horrific murders of Hannah Clarke and her children stunned Australia. Could they have been saved?

"Witnesses recall seeing a woman and two children crying out no, stop. A man carrying a small girl to his car. Her head banging into the door as he bundled her into a seat. No time to fasten her seatbelt. You have caused all of this, it's your fault, Rowan Baxter said to his estranged wife, Hannah Clarke, as he drove off with their daughter, Laianah, on Boxing Day 2019."

"But Guardian Australia has uncovered new evidence some of it never investigated by police and overlooked by the coroner that provides fresh insight into those critical final weeks of Clarke's life as she sought to escape Baxter. It casts doubt on that finding. It shows significant police lapses in the weeks between the abduction and the murders including failures to adequately investigate or document Clarke's allegations of non-lethal strangulation, stalking, phone hacking, rape and suspected child abuse."

"Those failures meant risk assessments were not updated with information that would have flagged Clarke as being at an extreme risk of harm and prompted further protective action. A whistleblower from within the coronial system who raised concerns about the police and coroner's handling of the case to the Crime and Corruption Commission told Guardian Australia the homicide investigation did not consider evidence of mistakes and other embarrassing failures by police before Clarke died, and was led by an office"

Hannah Clarke was abducted on Boxing Day 2019 when estranged husband Rowan Baxter forced their daughter into a car and later accused Clarke, saying she had caused everything. Eight weeks later Baxter poured petrol into the family car and set it alight, killing Aaliyah, Laianah and Trey; Baxter then died by suicide and Clarke died of her injuries in hospital. Investigations reveal police did not adequately investigate or document Clarke's allegations of non-lethal strangulation, stalking, phone hacking, rape and suspected child abuse. Risk assessments were not updated to reflect extreme danger. A coronial whistleblower said the homicide probe overlooked police mistakes.

Read at www.theguardian.com