A former professional rugby player is suspected of killing his three children and his ex-wife, from whom he separated a few months ago, setting the car on fire outside the Australian city of Brisbane.
The 31-year-old woman died Wednesday at a Brisbane hospital, hours after her three children, ages 3, 4 and 6, were found dead in the car.
Rowan Baxter , also deceased, approached the car, sprayed it with gasoline and set it on fire, according to the newspaper 'The Australian'.
The mother got out of the burning vehicle and shouted "she sprayed me with gasoline!", The newspaper reported. Authorities claim that he died in the hospital as a result of severe burns.
Australian public broadcaster ABC said Baxter, 42, a former rugby player at 13 of the New Zealand Warriors team , was in the burning vehicle, which he left before he died on the sidewalk. Other media claim that he died after being stabbed with a knife.
This tragedy caused a wave of sadness in social networks and many people called for tougher measures to fight gender violence .
Natasha Stott Despoja, former senator and president of the 'Our Watch' association, called violence against women in Australia a "national emergency."
Police, who are investigating the massacre, in the eastern suburbs of Brisbane, say it is too early to know the cause of the fire. "It has not yet been determined how the fire occurred," Queensland police inspector Mark Thompson said Wednesday. The officer acknowledged that this "heinous scene" is the worst he has ever seen
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