- By Tiffanie Turnbull
- BBC News, Sydney
1 hour ago
Image source: Jesse Baird
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Police say they are “very confident” they have found the bodies of Luke Davies (left) and Jesse Baird (right).
Tributes have poured in for suspected Australian murder victims Jesse Baird and Luke Davies as relatives visit the site where their bodies were found.
Police found human remains in “surf bags” on a rural property in Bungonia, south of Sydney, on Tuesday.
The discovery ends a search that has gripped and horrified Australia.
Officer Beaumont Lamarre-Condon was charged with murdering the couple, allegedly with his service weapon. He has not yet entered a plea.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was among those who paid tribute to Mr Baird and Mr Davies and offered condolences to their families and friends.
“They were obviously full of life… this is just a terrible incident,” he said, adding that it was a “tough day” for the LGBT community.
Dozens of Mr Davies's friends held an intimate beachside vigil in Sydney on Tuesday evening, lighting candles next to a portrait of the 29-year-old – who recently landed his dream job as an international flight attendant for Qantas.
In tributes posted online, Mr Davies is remembered as a beautiful soul with a “lust for life”, a love of travel and a cheeky smile.
“I can't believe he's gone. What a tragic waste,” his friend Rory Grant said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
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A wall full of flower arrangements was left outside Mr Baird's house
Meanwhile, Mr Baird – a TV personality and Australian Football League referee – is remembered by his loved ones as a talented, spirited and caring man.
His cousin Austin Baird described the 26-year-old as his “first best friend ever.”
“I'm completely devastated… you were one in a million,” he wrote on Instagram.
And his colleagues at Network 10 said he was more of a friend than a colleague. “[He was] like a little brother. He had this big, beautiful smile [and] “At 26, he was an absolute star,” Sarah Harris – host of current affairs program The Project – said in a tearful on-air tribute on Sunday.
Police under surveillance
In a series of press conferences this week, New South Wales (NSW) police released a timeline of how they believe the murders of the Sydney couple unfolded.
Witnesses said they heard “screams” coming from Mr Baird's inner-city home in Paddington on the morning of February 19. At around 09:50 local time (22:50 GMT), neighbors heard gunshots but did not report them to police until days later.
A few minutes after the shooting, an emergency call was made from Mr Davies' phone but was quickly canceled. Police said they sent a patrol car to Paddington to investigate the source of the call but were unable to determine the location from which the call came and did not enter Mr Baird's home.
It would be another two days before the couple's bloody items were found in a bin in Cronulla, 28 kilometers away.
Then last Wednesday, police set up a crime scene at Mr Baird's home after finding a “significant” amount of blood and upturned furniture, as well as a bullet from Mr Lamarre-Condon's service weapon.
They also appealed for information and searched a family's home in Balmain.
On Friday, Mr. Lamarre-Condon turned himself in. The former celebrity blogger – who once dated Mr Baird – has been charged with two counts of murder.
Investigators say he spent the days after the alleged murders traveling across the state to cover his tracks. According to the police, he enlisted the help of at least two unsuspecting acquaintances.
In the hours after the deaths, police said that Mr. Lamarre-Condon rented a van to dispose of the men's bodies and that he sent messages from Mr. Baird's phone telling his friends that he would move to Western Australia.
Investigators began searching a property in Bungonia after they allegedly learned that Mr. Lamarre-Condon had visited it last Wednesday with a person they described as an “innocent agent.”
After cutting a lock on a gate, Mr. Lamarre-Condon left the acquaintance there before driving the van to the property and returning 30 minutes later, investigators said.
According to authorities, he was initially unwilling to cooperate with police, but told them on Tuesday that the remains were at another property in the same city.
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Police officer Beaumont Lamarre-Condon is accused of murdering Jesse Baird and Luke Davies
New South Wales police have come under fire for their handling of the case. Questions have been raised about officers' access to their firearms after hours and the vetting process for potential recruits.
The police commissioner has also apologized after calling the deaths “crimes of passion” and using a Taylor Swift lyric to respond to criticism of the police.
“There will always be haters, haters love to hate, right Taylor?” [Swift] says?” said Karen Webb on Tuesday.
The fallout has resulted in New South Wales Police not being invited to Sydney's iconic Mardi Gras celebrations this weekend.
Police have long had a difficult relationship with Sydney's LGBT community, but it is the first time since they were first involved in the event in 1998 that they have been asked to sit out the matter.
Ms Webb said she was “disappointed” by the decision and would try to negotiate a solution with organizers.
The Australian Federal Police voluntarily withdrew from the march this year.
“This decision was not made lightly, but we recognize how some in the community feel about the blue uniform,” a spokesman said in a statement.
“We must always remember that this is an event for and about LGBTQI+ communities and the people who love and support them.”