Tempe police: Dad deliberately drove family into Tempe Town Lake

UPDATE: Tempe Town Lake tragedy officially ruled murder-suicide.

A father who was separated from his wife intentionally killed his family, including three small children, when he drove his estranged wife's SUV into Tempe Town Lake early Sunday morning, Tempe police have concluded.

Police released a surveillance video obtained from a nearby condominium complex that they say shows Glenn Edward Baxter, 27, parking the silver Nissan Armada, strolling down a walking path to the lake and then returning to the SUV.

"He walks down the path,'' said Lt. Mike Pooley, a Tempe police spokesman. "He's looking for the path of least resistance.''

In the video, Baxter backs up the SUV, then makes a short right-hand turn before veering left, into the lake.

Pooley said the SUV hit a 1-foot-tall embankment near the lake, went airborne and flipped into the water, which was about 6 to 7 feet deep.

Authorities identified the dead as Baxter; his wife, 25-year-old Danica Baxter; and their children, Reighn, 3, Nazyiah, 2, and Zariyah, 1.

"It just breaks your heart,'' Pooley said. "It's completely horrific what happened.''

Officers found Danica Baxter's cellphone under a nearby bench, where they believe Glenn Baxter made a point to leave it. The cellphone contained a series of text messages that showed she was speaking with Glenn Baxter's mother about the possibility of dropping off the children, Pooley said.

The last text message was sent a few minutes before midnight Saturday. Police said the murder-suicide occurred at 12:15 a.m. Sunday.

"She was texting his mother, saying, 'Your son is upset,''' Pooley said, but he added that there was no text indicating Danica Baxter had any suspicions about what police said happened next.

Detectives looking into the deaths "realized there had been a separation'' and that Glenn Baxter went to Danica Baxter's home Saturday night to talk about the children, Pooley said.

A family friend, Monika Lynn Nathan, said in an interview Monday morning that Danica Baxter was having divorce papers drawn up against Glenn at the time of her death.

Nathan said she had been Danica's high-school counselor in 2005 and had remained close with the younger woman, who was "like a daughter" to her. Nathan had officiated at Glenn and Danica's wedding, and when their marriage crumbled, she helped Danica draft divorce papers. Nathan said she had urged Danica to get an order of protection, adding that Glenn Baxter "had anger issues."

Danica and the children were living in an apartment separate from Glenn at the time of Sunday's fatal incident, Nathan said.

"I had just spoken to her three hours before," she said. "I'm just so devastated."

Tempe police and firefighters who tried to rescue the family discovered the children were still strapped into their seat belts, as was Danica Baxter, Pooley said. Reighn Baxter, the last child found, was wearing pajamas.

Pooley said three officers and witnesses dove into the lake in a failed attempt to save the victims. He called it one of the most horrific events in recent memory in Tempe.

"They risked their own safety to get the occupants out and to let them live,'' Pooley said.

Glenn, Danica, Nazyiah and Zariyah Baxter were pulled from the vehicle shortly after the incident, but officials said all the victims died at a hospital. Reighn's body was pulled from the lake by a Tempe Fire Department dive team at about 10 a.m. Sunday.

A handgun was found inside the SUV, but the surveillance video was too grainy for police to tell if the weapon was used in the crime. No one inside the vehicle suffered a gunshot wound, Pooley said, and police found no evidence, as of late Monday, to suggest that Danica Baxter was incapacitated.

"We have asked that question ourselves about a hundred times," Pooley said when asked why the mother did not flee with her children while Glenn Baxter was walking outside, back and forth, at the lake. "We don't know.''

According to Nathan, Danica would have sought custody of the children Monday through Friday, and Glenn would have been allowed to see the children on the weekends if he took anger-management classes. Nathan said Glenn was "a great young man" but had a temper.

According to Superior Court records, Glenn had faced charges of aggravated assault in 2012, but the charges were dismissed due to insufficient evidence.

Nathan said the SUV belonged to Danica, but authorities said Glenn was driving when it went in the water. Nathan said Danica had mentioned that Glenn wanted to "take the babies and run away with them" but that she "was not going to leave them."

Nathan said Danica took good care of her children and was "intelligent and always happy."

Danica's grandfather, George Britt, said she loved her children and her family.

"I just can't believe what happened to her," Britt said. "She lived with me when she was a little baby. I mostly raised her and her brother, Diamond. We're going to miss her."

Surveillance video shows the SUV entering the lake from the north side, near the condominium complex and a fast-food restaurant. A fisherman who was on the south side of the lake called 911 to report the incident.

"A car by the In-N-Out Burger, a car went into the lake,'' the caller tells a female dispatcher on the 911 call. "We heard the crash. We saw the brake lights become submerged.''

He later tells another dispatcher, "It's upside-down right now, man. I can't tell if it's a truck or not.''

Audio of the call released Monday by the Tempe Police Department indicates that police and fire personnel arrived at the scene about four minutes into the call.

Autopsies were conducted Monday afternoon by the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office, but Pooley said he did not know the outcome.

Tempe police were alerted to the scene near the north end of the Scottsdale Road bridge at 12:15 a.m. Sunday. There, they found the SUV submerged in water and upside-down. Glenn, Danica, Nazyiah and Zariyah were pulled out of the water by police officers and witnesses who were unaware of another occupant inside.

Rescuers performed CPR until paramedics arrived to transport the four unconscious occupants to the hospital, where all were later pronounced dead, Pooley said.

Just before 9 a.m., divers discovered 3-year-old Reighn still strapped in his car seat in the back row of the submerged vehicle, in what police described as a "horrible" scene.

Britt currently has a GoFundMe page set up to help fund the funerals for Danica and her three children.

The family of Glenn Baxter declined comment and has asked for privacy to grieve.

Where to call for help:

There are an array of local and national groups available to help anyone who may be in an abusive relationship or may be contemplating suicide:

Mercy Maricopa’s 24-hour suicide crisis line: 800-631-1314

Glendale Family Advocacy Center: 623-930-3720

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233

Mesa police Center Against Family Violence: 480-644-4075

Reporters Anya Rogers and Garrett Mitchell contributed to this article.