- Written by Tiffany Turnbull
- BBC News, Sydney
image source, jesse baird
Police said they were “very confident” they had found the bodies of Luke Davis (left) and Jesse Baird (right).
Relatives of Australian murder victims Jesse Baird and Luke Davis have visited the site where their bodies were found, and are paying tribute.
Police discovered human remains inside a “surf bag” in rural Bungonia, south of Sydney, on Tuesday.
The discovery brings to an end an investigation that has shocked and horrified Australia.
Police officer Beaumont Lamarre-Condon was charged with murdering a couple with a workplace-issued gun. He has not yet entered a plea.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also paid his respects to Mr Baird and Mr Davis and expressed his condolences to their families and friends.
“They were clearly energized…This is just a terrible incident,” he said, adding that it was a “tough day” for the LGBT community.
Dozens of Mr Davies' friends held an intimate Sydney beachside wake on Tuesday night, lighting candles next to a portrait of the 29-year-old, who recently landed his dream job as an international flight attendant with Qantas. was lit.
In a memorial posted online, Davis is remembered as a beautiful soul with a “thirst for life,” a love of travel and a cheeky smile.
“I can't believe he's gone. It's such a shame,” friend Rory Grant said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
A wall of flowers remains outside Mr Baird's house.
Meanwhile, Mr Baird, a television personality and Australian Football League referee, is remembered by loved ones as a talented, bubbly and caring person.
His cousin Austin Baird described the 26-year-old as his “best friend ever”.
“I'm devastated…you were one in a million,” he wrote on Instagram.
And colleagues at Network 10 say he was more of a friend than a colleague. ”[He was] Like a younger brother.he had this big, beautiful smile [and] “He was an absolute star, 26 years old,” Sarah Harris, host of current affairs show The Project, tearfully eulogized on air Sunday.
police are investigating
In a series of press conferences this week, New South Wales Police shared a timeline of how they say the Sydney couple's murders unfolded.
Witnesses said they heard “screams” coming from inside Mr Baird's home in Paddington city center on the morning of February 19. Neighbors heard gunshots at around 09:50 local time (22:50 GMT) but did not call police until several days later.
Davis' phone received an emergency call within minutes of the gunfire, but it quickly went off. Police said they dispatched a squad car to Paddington to investigate the source of the call, but were unable to locate the source and did not enter Baird's home.
Two more days passed before the couple's bloody items were discovered in a bin in Cronulla, 28km away.
Police then set up a scene at Mr Baird's home last Wednesday after finding a “substantial” amount of blood, overturned furniture and bullets from Mr Lamarre-Condon's service gun.
They also appealed for information and searched the family's home in Balmain.
On Friday, Lamarre-Condon turned himself in. The former famous blogger, who once dated Baird, was charged with two counts of murder.
Investigators say the suspect crisscrossed the state in the days after the alleged murder, trying to cover his tracks, and police say he enlisted the help of at least two acquaintances he didn't know.
Police said hours after the death, Mr Lamar-Condon hired a van to dispose of the man's body and sent messages from Mr Baird's mobile phone to friends saying he was moving to Western Australia.
Detectives launched the search last Wednesday after learning Mr Lamarre-Condon had visited a property in Bungonia with someone they described as an “innocent agent”.
Investigators said Lamar-Condon cut the lock on the gate, left a female acquaintance there, drove a van to the property, and returned 30 minutes later.
Authorities said the man was initially reluctant to cooperate with police, but finally told police on Tuesday that the body was on another property in the same town.
Police officer Beaumont Lamarre-Condon is charged with the murders of Jesse Baird and Luke Davis.
NSW Police has faced criticism for its handling of the incident, with questions raised over officers' off-hours access to firearms and the process for vetting candidates.
The police commissioner also called the death a “crime of passion” and apologized after using Taylor Swift lyrics to respond to criticism of police.
“There are always haters, and haters want to hate, isn’t that what Taylor thinks?” [Swift] What? ” Karen Webb said Tuesday.
The row has resulted in NSW Police being disinvited from Sydney's iconic Mardi Gras celebrations this weekend.
Police have long had a difficult relationship with Sydney's LGBT community, but this is the first time since they first attended the event in 1998 that they have been asked not to attend.
But on Wednesday, NSW Police and the Mardi Gras Board struck an agreement to have fewer police officers take part, provided they march in uniform “in view of the current sensitivities”. Banners indicate they are police.
“With this result, [LGBT Liaison Officers] These are people who give of their time and service to the community to participate in events with compassion and respect so that we can all overcome this tragedy together,” the board said in a statement.
The Australian Federal Police voluntarily withdrew from this year's march.
“This decision was not taken lightly, but we are aware of how some members of the community feel about the blue uniforms,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
“We must always remember that this is an event for the LGBTQI+ community and those who love and support them.”
