A church pastor who briefly befriended Hannah Clarke’s murderous ex-husband at his gym has shed light at an inquest of how the killer had an “alpha male” personality and exhibited “controlling and paranoid” behaviours.
Christopher Ensbey revealed a tearful Rowan Baxter broke down as he complained of his marital breakdoxjmtzywwn in what he described as a rare moment of vulnerability for the father-of-three.
But despite Baxter’s appearance of genuine remorse Mr Ensbey said he was more remorseful for “losing the way of his home life” and wanted to “tick boxes” to get his wife and kids back.
“He knew something was wrong and had to change but he didn’t have the self-awareness to know what to do,” Mr Ensbey said.
The Citipointe Church pastor was called to give evidence on the third day of an inquest into the deaths of Ms Clarke, Baxter and their children.
The horror unfolded on February 19, 2020 when Ms Clarke and her children Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3 were on their way to school.
Baxter ambushed the young family, dousing Ms Clarke and the car in petrol before setting it on fire.
He took his own life as neighbours desperately tried to extinguish the burning wreck.
Mr Ensbey on Wednesday told the court he met Rowan and Hannah through their gym, which was close to his Carindale church.
“They were both very competitive people, full of life and fun,” he said.
Mr Ensbey said he felt Baxter always wanted to be the “alpha male” while in the gym and would at times train people until they vomited.
The pastor revealed Baxter called him “out of the blue” several months before the horror attack and arranged to meet in person.
“He said he wasn’t doing well, it was around his marriage,” he said.
When they met, Baxter broke down and cried into Mr Ensbey’s shoulder, confiding he made selfish decisions around his relationship.
Mr Ensbey told the court the pair continued to meet up but said he did not believe Baxter’s attempts to change were genuine.
“He (Baxter) only wanted to change what needed to be changed in order to keep his marriage the way it was,” he said.
“It was a temporary change to get what he wanted.”
Mr Ensbey gave evidence he had communicated with Ms Clarke about her relationship with Baxter, with the woman revealing how “controlling” Baxter was at home.
Ms Clarke told the pastor Baxter believed he was entitled to sex every day and controlled her daily schedule.
“I had never perceived the paranoia around relationship but at this point it felt like he was getting more and more paranoid about who she spent time with and her communications,” Mr Ensbey said.
Brad Clark, who briefly employed Ms Clarke and Baxter at an Athlete’s Foot store, gave evidence of how Ms Clarke’s husband was a difficult employee who “didn’t like getting ‘No’ for an answer”.
Mr Clark said Baxter was highly critical of employees at the store and would often “burn bridges” with clients.
The court was told Baxter would often wear out shoes from the store, then return and demand a new pair.
Mr Clark said Baxter appeared to dominate conversations about their gym opening when the pair were together.
“It felt like her ideas were quashed quite quickly when they spoke,” he said.
Two other witnesses were excused from giving evidence on Wednesday but the court was told they had both provided statements about Baxter’s controlling behaviour for the inquest.
One of them said she provided $1000 to Baxter to “clear his debts” and told him not to do anything silly.
Another said Baxter appeared “flat but peaceful” when she saw him days before the attack and asked her about mental health plans.
The inquest continues.
