Devastated relatives of Jesse Baird have arrived at the bushland graves of the Channel 10 presenter and his partner Luke Davies to see the site where their loved one’s body was allegedly abandoned
Two cars escorted by police were driven into the crime scene at Bungonia, about 180km south of Sydney in the Southern Tablelands, on Tuesday night.
Four of Mr Baird’s family members, seated in a blue car with Victorian number plates, were followed by another relative travelling alone in a black four-wheel drive.
All looked solemn as they spoke to police and were escorted through with several women wearing sunglasses to hide their grief.
After arriving at the scene, officers took the group to the location where the couple’s bodies were found inside surf bags, covered in dirt and rocks, by a fence line in shrubbery along Jerrara Road.
Relatives spent about 15 minutes with Mr Baird’s body before driving away from the scene.
Jesse Baird’s distraught family was seen arriving at the crime scene in Bungonia, about 180km south of Sydney in the Southern Tablelands, on Tuesday night to view his body
Another relative of Jesse’s travelling alone in a black four-wheel drive also arrived
The two cars were escorted by police were driven into the crime scene on Tuesday night
Forensics teams will spend the night examining the site, which was identified after accused double-murderer Beau Lamarre-Condon, 28, disclosed the location to police earlier on Tuesday after seeking legal advice.
The burial site is understood to be on public land, next to a Greek Orthodox Monastery.
About 180km away, shattered friends of Mr Baird and Mr Davies gathered at Bronte Beach for a vigil.
NSW Police senior constable Lamarre-Condon is alleged to have shot the couple dead at Mr Baird’s Paddington home in Sydney’s east, at 9.50am last Monday, but police had been unable to locate their bodies until Tuesday afternoon.
That morning, at about 11am, Lamarre-Condon finally agreed to help police from his Silverwater prison cell and told detectives where they would find the men’s remains – 20 minutes away from another location in Bungonia where police had been searching on Monday.
Jesse’s family spoke to police at the cordoned-off scene before being escorted through
Jesse’s grieving family was escorted to where their loved one’s body was found hours earlier
Family members spent 15 minutes with Jesse’s body before leaving the crime scene
At a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb confirmed the bodies had now been found and the families had been informed.
‘Detectives attached to StrikeForce Ashfordby have located a second crime scene in Bungonia, which is a separate location to the scene that they had been searching yesterday and earlier,’ she said.
‘And at that location, we believe we have located two bodies. The families have been informed.
‘We are very confident we have located Luke and Jesse.’
Police revealed they had worked tirelessly around the clock to find the men since the alarm was raised last Wednesday, but admitted a fruitless search of dams at Bungonia on Monday had left them ‘extremely deflated’.
‘I am exhausted, I’ve barely eaten or slept,’ said Detective Sergeant Sasha Pinazza, the officer in charge of the investigation.
‘We went home last night, extremely deflated. But it’s not in our nature to give up.
‘We rallied again this morning and have come across a wonderful result for the families.’
On Tuesday afternoon, the remains of missing TV presenter Jesse Baird (right) and his flight attendant boyfriend Luke Davies (left) were found in Bungonia
A vigil for Jesse Baird and Luke Davies was held at Bronte Beach on Tuesday night after their bodies were found earlier in the day
Davies and Baird had a wide circle of friends despite having only recently moved to Sydney
Mourners gathered at the vigil to remember the two men’s lives that were tragically cut short
Two men were seen hugging out the outdoor vigil held on Tuesday evening at Bronte Beach
A photo of Luke, which was widely circulated in the press and on social media after his disappearance, was propped up next to flowers
Men wiped away tears and comforted one another at the evening vigil
Commissioner Webb revealed detectives were led to the location of the bodies on Tuesday with the help of Lamarre-Condon after he was questioned at Silverwater jail this morning.
‘As a result of that, he provided assistance to the investigation and a location of where Luke and Jesse were,’ said Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty.
‘About 1pm today, homicide squad detectives attended a location at Jerrara Road, Bungonia – about 20 minutes from the original search location – where they have located what they believe are the remains of Luke and and Jesse.
‘There were two surf bags that have been found, and some debris and other items of interest that (were) located.
‘We will allege he acted alone and he is the sole person responsible for the murders of Luke and Jesse.
‘We will allege he is the sole person responsible for placing the bodies of Luke and Jesse at the current location.’
He added: ‘Today it’s obviously a mixed emotion for the families – very sad day for them and we pass our condolences on to the Davies and the Baird families.’
Lamarre-Condon ‘finally obtained legal counsel on Tuesday morning,’ said Assistant Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald.
‘We were subsequently straight out to the jail and asked for his assistance.
‘This is the first time he has willingly told us information.’
The grisly discovery at a property in Bungonia, 180km south of Sydney, follows police divers scouring several dams at another property in the Southern Tablelands town on Monday.
It’s understood the bodies were not in water when they were found on Tuesday. The surf bags were located close to a fence-line, partially hidden by rocks and debris.
NSW Police senior constable Beau Lamarre-Condon (pictured) is alleged to have shot the couple at Mr Baird’s Paddington home in Paddington, in Sydney’s east, at 9.50am last Monday
Lamarre-Condon is alleged to have driven to the Southern Tablelands last Wednesday in a rented van with an acquaintance and bought an angle driver and padlock on the way
Mourners gathered at the home of Jesse Bird in Padddington (pictured) as news of the tragic discovery began to filter through on Tuesday afternoon
Floral tributes from friends, family and well-wishers festoon the porch outside the home of Jesse Baird in Paddington
Detective Sergeant Sasha Pinazza (pictured) revealed police had worked tirelessly around the clock to find the men since the alarm was raised last Wednesday
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb (pictured) confirmed the bodies had now been found and the families had been informed
Police said arrangements had now been made for family members to travel to the location.
‘Whilst this news may bring some solace to the families, I know this will be incredibly heartbreaking for them,’ added Assistant Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald.
‘Our sympathies are with them.’
How crime allegedly unfolded
Lamarre-Condon is alleged to have driven to the area last Wednesday in a rented van with an acquaintance and bought an angle driver and padlock on the way.
He was alleged to have cut through a padlocked gate to access a private road and left the acquaintance for 30 minutes while he allegedly disposed of the bodies.
He then returned to Sydney, but police allege he bought weights at 11pm that night before driving back to Bungonia again, where they allege he may have then moved the bodies to a new location.
After Monday’s fruitless search of the dams, near Goulburn in the Southern Tablelands, police searched two new locations on Tuesday, after blood was found in bushland in Grays Point where Lamarre-Condon’s rented van was found last Friday.
They also opened up a fresh crime scene at the Royal National Park where they said they were seeking new evidence they believed they might find there.
At 2.30pm on Tuesday came news of the discovery of the human remains in Bungonia.
It followed new details emerging of Lamarre-Condon reportedly undergoing surgery hours after he is accused of gunning down the two men.
The celebrity chaser-turned-police officer is said to have been booked in for an operation on his stomach last Tuesday, 24 hours after Mr Baird, 26, and Mr Davies, 29, were allegedly killed.
Beaul Lamarre-Condon is said to have been booked in for an operation on his stomach last Tuesday, 24 hours after Jesse Baird, 26, and Mr Davies, 29, were allegedly killed
Police set up another crime scene at bushland on the edge of Grays Point Oval (pictured) in Sydney’s south earlier on Tuesday after traces of blood were discovered
A timeline outlined by NSW Police deputy commissioner David Hudson on Monday alleged that Lamarre-Condon, 28, shot the lovers at Mr Baird’s home in Paddington, in Sydney’s east, at 9.50am last Monday.
Lamarre-Condon is alleged to have hired a white Toyota HiAce van from Sydney Airport before returning to the $3million rented terrace home to collect their bodies on Monday night when the van was caught outside the home on CCTV.
On Tuesday, police allege the cop made ‘partial admissions’ about the killings to an acquaintance, but the alarm was only raised on Wednesday after the couple’s bloodied clothes and possessions were found in a skip in Cronulla in Sydney’s south.
Lamarre-Condon is believed to have gone into hospital for day surgery last Tuesday – a day after the alleged shooting, Radio 2GB reported.
The day after the surgery, Lamarre-Condon is alleged to have driven to Bungonia in an apparent bid to dispose of the bodies at one of several dams.
He later drove back to Sydney and is alleged to have bought weights from a department store in Sydney at 11pm on Wednesday before returning alone to Bungonia again.
Police have not specified which department store is open at that time of night on a Wednesday.
The van is alleged to have left the Bungonia area around 4.30am on Thursday in a possible attempt to move the bodies to a new location, say police.
‘We believe that it is possible the accused, in that gap in the timeline, has returned to that property and retrieved the bodies and disposed of them somewhere else,’ said Mr Hudson.
‘We are still working through that theory and we are obviously commencing and have undertaken significant inquiries in relation to that.’
Lamarre-Condon is alleged to have bought and used an angle driver to cut through a padlock to access the property while the acquaintance was left standing for 30 minutes
NSW Police deputy commissioner David Hudson revealed key gaps in the timeline of Beau Lamarre-Condon’s movements
Beau Lamarre-Condon’s rented Toyota HiAce van was found in Grays Point in Sydney’s south on Friday morning after he handed himself into police
Beau Lamarre-Condon (pictured in handcuffs) handed himself into police at Bondi police station at 10.39am on Friday
Lamarre-Condon then allegedly drove the van to Newcastle, 165km north of Sydney, arriving around 8.30pm at the home of police constable pal Renee Fortuna where he allegedly borrowed a hose to clean the vehicle.
He is alleged to have then driven back to Sydney to his uncle Brian Lamarre’s home in Grays Point in Sydney’s south before dawn on Friday morning and later handing himself in at Bondi police station at 10.39am.
He was later charged with the murder of the two missing men.
On Tuesday morning, police revealed the hunt for the men’s bodies had now switched to the Royal National Park, south of Cronulla where the bloodied men’s possessions were found dumped in a skip.
Beau Lamarre-Condon allegedly drove the van to Newcastle, 165km north of Sydney, arriving around 8.30pm at the home of police constable pal Renee Fortuna (pictured) where he allegedly borrowed a hose to clean the vehicle
Police also revealed blood had been found at Grays Point Oval, in Sydney’s south, as the search continues for the bodies of the missing pair.
The blood was spotted by a passerby and police immediately closed off the area.
However, police believe the blood may have come from deer culling in the area overnight, news.com.au reported.
On Monday night, a close friend of Jesse Baird dismissed suggestions Lamarre-Condon was a former lover of the Studio 10 roving reporter.
‘Jesse briefly had an encounter with Beau. He was not his ex-boyfriend,’ TV producer Isaac Muller told the ABC’s 7.30 show.
‘They were never going out.’
Corey-Dean Thorpe, a good friend of Mr Baird’s who was previously in a relationship with him for five years, also denied the rumours Mr Baird and Lamarre-Condon were lovers.
He told Daily Mail Australia Lamarre-Condon had feelings for Mr Baird that were not reciprocated, and that Baird was eventually forced to end their friendship when the serving NSW Police officer posted videos on Instagram falsely suggesting they were a couple.
Last November, Mr Thorpe even assisted Mr Baird in drafting a text message to Lamarre-Condon telling the senior constable he had overstepped the boundaries of their friendship and they should no longer see each other.
The text concluded: ‘I would appreciate it if you could refrain from contacting me.’
Channel 10 news anchor Hugh Riminton said Mr Baird was relishing the new relationship with Mr Davies, who had only moved to Sydney from Brisbane four months ago.
‘He’d found this new love and he’d told so many of my colleagues of his delight in finding Luke,’ said Riminton.
Police say they are now focused on finding the bodies of the missing men after Lamarre-Condon was charged with their murders.
‘No one has led us to the body, so it’s really time consuming,’ NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb told Nine’s Today show on Tuesday.
‘There is a law – no parole, no body…We really need to find Jesse and Luke.
‘Detectives are going through every single piece of evidence, taking a new evidence and really leaving no stone unturned to try and locate Jessie and Luke.’
