The mass murder in Invercargill

How did a kind man go from being a respected businessman to a mass murderer in just a few months?
Those who worked for James Reid Baxter thought him a kind man, a well-off floristry businessman who worked hard.
But in the middle of the night on April 7, 1907, Baxter went on a killing spree.
It was only with hindsight that a number of things were shown to have led to his insanity.
Baxter was born in Banffshire, Scotland on April 6, 1864, to Thomas and Matilda. He worked as a seed and corn merchant and married Elizabeth Markham in England in 1894.
The first three of their five children were born there before the couple brought their growing family to New Zealand.
They moved to Invercargill where Baxter set up a small floristry business. It made sense, he had worked with plants and seeds his whole life.
No one predicted what was to come, but there were warnings. In the few months before the tragedy, Baxter became sick, first with influenza then cholera, then he slipped on a rock and sustained a head injury which he never got treated.
He began to complain about head pain, sometimes refused to get out of bed or work. A close friend of the family later said he stole a bottle of laudanum (a strong opioid) from her.
On April 3, 1907 Baxter suddenly bought a rifle then exchanged it on April 6 for a shotgun.
The next day the family went to bed as normal. Sons Basil, 9, and Roy, 4, shared a front bedroom while 11-year-old Phyllis shared hers with two year old Ronald.
Baxter, Elizabeth and six-week-old baby John were in the main bedroom.
While they all slept, Baxter got up again and got an iron stove scraper. He went to each bedroom and smashed it into the head of every member of his family.
Baxter then got the gun, locked himself in the bathroom, filled the bathtub and shot himself. His watch, in his vest, stopped at 2.50am.
The next morning about 10.45am next door neighbour and friend Archibald McLean went looking for the family and, on peering through the window, realised he could see bodies. With a police officer, they broke into the house.
Basil, Ronald and Roy died in their beds. Elizabeth, Phyllis and John were, extraordinarily, still alive.
But despite help, Elizabeth died three days later, and John a couple of days later. Phyllis lived for about three weeks partly paralysed but died on April 22.
A coroner's jury found Baxter suffered from temporary insanity.
The whole family is buried in the Eastern cemetery in Invercargill.
There was no funeral, and the grave was initially unmarked. However a headstone now lists all the victims first and Baxter’s name last.
Photo from Te Papa's collection.