An Australian detective resigned from the Hannah Clarke murder-suicide case Friday after making a statement that sparked outrage for “victim shaming,” according to a report.

In a press conference Thursday, Det. Insp. Mark Thompson appeared to sympathize with Clarke’s estranged husband Rowan Baxter, a former pro Rugby player who authorities say burned her and their three kids to death in a car then killed himself in Brisbane earlier this week, according to BBC News.

Thompson said the twisted tragedy may have been caused by a man “being driven too far by issues that he’s suffered” — infuriating domestic violence advocates and prompting the cop to voluntarily remove himself from the case, Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said.

Carroll said Thompson resigned because he was “distraught” over how the statement “came out,” according to the outlet.

Baxter allegedly burned Clarke, 31, and the couple’s children, Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3 to death in a fiery blaze Wednesday. Baxter, 42, escaped from the car then stabbed himself to death.

Before her death, Clarke had repeatedly filed domestic violence reports with police, according to the BBC.

But Thompson told media Thursday the case might not be as straight forward as it looks and that it’s his job to “keep a completely open mind”.

“Is this an issue of a woman suffering significant domestic violence and her and her children perishing at the hands of the husband, or is this an instance of a husband being driven too far by issues that he’s suffered, by certain circumstances, into committing acts of this form?” he said.

Carroll later told ABC Radio Brisbane that his comments were “victim-blaming at its worst” and apologized on behalf of the lower-ranking officer.

“The phraseology was completely wrong, and the words and way it was said should not have been used.”

She added that Thompson is “an exceptionally good police officer” but that they both agreed to “to remove the noise and concentrate on the [case].”