 "Australia double murder: How ex-TV presenter, partner were killed by jilted police lover")
Australia’s Sydney is on edge after the double murder of a same-sex couple allegedly by a jilted lover – who is a police officer – last week. Ex-television presenter Jesse Baird and his flight attendant partner Luke Davies were allegedly shot dead in the former’s Sydney home last Monday.
The Australian police said today (27 February) that they have found the bodies of the couple days after the suspected murders. “We are very confident that we have located Luke and Jesse,” New South Wales (NSW) Police Commissioner Karen Webb said.
Let’s take a closer look.
How did the Sydney murders come to light?
As per the police, Baird, 26-year-old former Channel Ten presenter, and his 29-year-old partner Davies, a Qantas flight attendant, were killed at Baird’s shared house in the inner-Sydney suburb of Paddington on 19 February, reported Independent.
Gunshots were heard at Baird’s home at 9.50 am by neighbours last Monday, according to New Zealand’s 1News channel. A day before, the pair was last seen by friends at the opening party for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival at the Beresford Hotel.
The police said a triple-0 call was made from Davies’ phone on Monday but it got disconnected. “I can indicate on Monday, four minutes after the first shots were fired, there was a triple-0 call made … However it disconnected,” a top NSW Police official was quoted as saying by ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).
Police believe this is when Baird and Davies were murdered by NSW Police Force Senior Constable Beau Lamarre-Condon, whom the former TV presenter dated until late last year, reported 1News.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsDetectives allege that Lamarre-Condon, 28, used his service pistol to carry out the murders . A bullet case recovered from Baird’s home matched the pistol signed out of a police gun safe by the cop on 15 February and returned last Tuesday, as per Independent.
On 21 February, items belonging to the couple, including a watch, credit cards, and bloodied clothing, were found in a large bin in the beachside suburb of Cronulla. This reportedly prompted the police to suspect a homicide and begin a missing persons investigation.
Search on for missing bodies
The police suspect that Lamarre-Condon, a former celebrity blogger, hired a white van from Sydney Airport to move the bodies to a rural property in Bungonia near Goulburn, about 200 kilometres southwest of Sydney.
NSW deputy commissioner David Hudson said an angle grinder and padlock were bought at a local hardware store near Bungonia, along with weights from a department store last Wednesday, reported ABC News.
“The angle grinder was used to sever a padlock from the gate of that particular rural property and subsequently that padlock was replaced with a padlock purchased from the hardware store,” he said.
The police said the suspected killer had taken “an acquaintance” to the Bungonia property last week. After breaking off the lock, Lamarre-Condon allegedly left the female acquaintance at the entrance for half an hour while he went inside the property.
She “wasn’t aware the bodies were in the vehicle” and has been cooperating with the police, Deputy Commissioner Hudson said, as per BBC.
Detectives suspect Lamarre returned to the place last Thursday to shift the bodies to another location. Police divers had been combing dams and nearby farmland at the private property in Bungonia.
The Sydney police officer was charged with two counts of murder on Friday (23 February). He was arrested that morning after he walked into a police station in the suburb of Bondi.
According to Hudson, witnesses said that Baird had previously spoken about a “man in his room” but did not report it to the police. “We believe that he had utilised a key to enter those premises. We believe he took possession of Jesse’s phone and deleted contacts and messages out of that phone before leaving the premises,” he was quoted as saying by ABC News.
Australian Police find missing bodies
After starting the search for the bodies on 24 February, the police said today they found the remains of the missing couple at a second property in Bungonia.
“Today … at that location, we believe we have located two bodies. The families have been notified. We are very confident we have located Luke and Jesse,” NSW police commissioner Webb was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
The police said that Lamarre-Condon “willingly told us information” about the two bodies on Tuesday morning after initially refusing to cooperate.
Detective Superintendent Daniel Doherty said the remains were discovered “near the entrance to the [Bungonia] property” and that attempts had been made “to cover the bodies with rock and debris”, reported BBC.
Two surf bags were also found at the Bungonia crime scene, according to The Guardian.
ALSO READ: How Christopher Saunders, former Aus bishop, committed a string of sex crimes
Police under fire
This is suspected to be the first murder by a New South Wales police officer in decades, as per BBC.
The crime has stunned Australia and prompted a review of the out-of-hours access to firearms that police officers have. On Monday, the case led to Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras organisers to ask the NSW police not to march at the annual parade this weekend.
“The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Board feels that having the NSW Police march this year could add to the distress within our communities, already deeply affected by recent events. The Board has taken the decision to request that the Police do not march in the 2024 Parade,” the board said in a statement, as per Associated Press (AP).
Police commissioner Webb said she would meet the organisers and urge them to reconsider its decision.
“We’re not dealing with a gay hate crime here. We’re dealing with a domestic homicide and … I’m disappointed (by) the position that Mardi Gras board has taken on this issue,” Webb said.
“This time, more than any in our society, it’s time to come together. We’re talking about inclusion, we’re talking about diversity and to exclude part of that community, I think, sends a wrong message,” she added.
Her comments evoked outrage among domestic violence advocates who said it was inappropriate for the alleged killings by Lamarre-Condon to be justified by “love”, reported 1News.
With inputs from agencies
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