A cop has been charged with the murder of two men missing from Sydney’s inner-east, as it emerges a police issue firearm was allegedly used in the killings.
A cop who dated a missing Channel 10 presenter has been charged with two counts of murder after he allegedly used his service weapon while on-duty to kill the star and his Qantas flight attendant boyfriend before disposing of their bodies.
Beau Lamarre-Condon, 28, a NSW Police officer and ex-celebrity blogger, handed himself in to cops shortly after 10.30am on Friday morning after a frantic overnight search.
His ex-boyfriend, Jesse Baird, 26, has been missing along with his partner Luke Davies, 29, since Monday. Police said they held “grave concerns” for the pair after their bloodied clothes were discovered behind a skip-bin in the southern suburb of Cronulla, 30km away from Mr Baird’s home.
Police will allege Lamarre-Condon used his work gun to kill the two men at Mr Baird’s Paddington home in Sydney’s inner-east some time between 12.30am and 5.30pm on Monday after they returned from a night out.
It is then alleged her transported and disposed of their bodies in a rented white van.
Their bodies have not yet been found.
The couple were last seen by friends at a Mardi Gras party at the Beresford Hotel in Surry Hills on Sunday night.
Lamarre-Condon was rostered on to work this week at the time but called in sick on Tuesday, after the alleged murders, according to Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty.
The gun allegedly used to shoot the couple was checked back in to a suburban police station on Tuesday.
Lamarre-Condon then failed to report for work on Wednesday, the same day police colleagues were first alerted about the disappearance of Mr Baird and Mr Davies.
“Through the evidence that’s been located to date, both the items in the skip bin that had blood on them and certain identification and other items and through the examination of the crime scene at Paddington, where a large amount of blood was located, police also located a projectile at the premises which had been discharged and also a fired cartridge case,” Mr Doherty said.
“This has now been physically matched to a NSW Police firearm and forms part of the evidence for the alleged facts to face court for this 28-year-old man.”
Lamarre-Condon briefly appeared before Waverley Local Court on Friday afternoon wearing a black T-shirt.
The 28-year-old nodded along to the magistrate as the case was adjourned to April 23.
He did not apply for bail and it was formally refused.
Mr Doherty confirmed the white Toyota HiAce with NSW registration CW82PM had been located on Friday morning and was filmed by news.com.au being removed from Grays Point in Sydney’s south on Friday afternoon.
“It’s important that we get the movements in relation to that van as hopefully we can find the bodies and this is important for the family,” he said.
“Our thoughts and condolences go out to the family. They have received the news of the charging … so they have now been obviously devastated by the news. We believe there is sufficient evidence to proceed with those charges due to the evidence we have up-to-date.
“It’s really important that we do locate the bodies, not only for the cause of death but the answers for the family because they are still grieving and are starting to grieve now.”
Lamarre-Condon previously dated Mr Baird and police have been told by relatives that their break-up was “bitter”. Mr Baird had reportedly expressed concerns for his safety and said he was being stalked.
Mr Doherty said there were “no warnings or flags to us in relation to his behaviour or any relationship breakdown”.
“Since this inquiry has come along and those investigations were made with family and friends, and it has been well documented that there were some worrying behaviours that have been alleged by family and friends but that was never reported to police,” he said.
In a fresh twist on Friday, police have opened a new crime scene in Newcastle, 165km away, sealing off a street in Lambton after a white van matching the description was spotted in Karoola Road near Lambton Pool.
Lamarre-Condon’s phone turned back on Friday morning after being switched off overnight, The Daily Mail reported, with his WhatsApp contact showing messages were “last seen today at 9.55am”.
It comes after investigators raided a home in Balmain linked to Mr Lamarre-Condon’s family in Balmain and seized a number of items late on Thursday night in the search for the two men.
Mr Baird’s WhatsApp account was active as of Tuesday night, according to police.
“If Jesse’s seeing this, we’d ask him to contact us, as well as anyone that might know the whereabouts of Jesse,” Detective Superintendent Jodi Radmore said on Thursday.
CCTV footage had emerged of what was believed to be the last known sighting of the couple.
However, Mr Doherty told reporters on Friday that based on police’s timeline of events, the men pictured were not Mr Baird and Mr Davies.
Two men were seen on the footage outside Mr Baird’s Paddington terrace on Monday night.
A white van was then seen driving past the home. Police believe the van is linked to Mr Lamarre-Condon.
Three vehicles were seized on Thursday – two from Paddington and a third from an undisclosed location.
One of the cars belonged to Mr Baird and another to Mr Davies.
Neighbours said they heard shouting from the Paddington property on Monday.
At about 11.30pm on Thursday, police executed a search warrant on a home in Waite Avenue, Balmain, as part of an investigation into the disappearance of the two men.
“Officers seized a number of items,” NSW Police confirmed.
Lamarre-Condon’s family members were holed up in the one-storey cottage on Friday morning with media camped outside.
A man answered a knock on the door from reporters but declined to comment.
About 10am a woman walked into the house but did not respond to questions.
A neighbour in a nearby street claimed to have seen Mr Lamarre-Condon sitting outside the home earlier in the week.
Another said she was shocked to see police in the quiet lane way.
“This is sleepy Balmain, nothing ever happens here,” she said.
Detectives were seen doorknocking residents around nearby streets.
Lamarre-Condon hit headlines in 2020 after a video of him tasering a man during a dramatic arrest went viral.
He was later cleared by an internal investigation of any wrongdoing.
Prior to his job as a police officer he was a celebrity blogger who “came out” to Lady Gaga when he threw a note onto the stage during one of her concerts.
Police said bloodied clothes belonging to Mr Davies and “another man” were found dumped behind a skip-bin in the south Sydney suburb of Cronulla by a worker on Wednesday.
A “significant” amount of blood consistent with a fatality and signs of a struggle were then discovered inside Mr Baird’s rented home at about 1pm on Thursday in Paddington, according to officers.
“After entering the property, officers immediately established a crime scene,” police said.
“Police then attended Luke’s home in Waterloo, but he has not been located. Their disappearances are being treated as suspicious.”
Investigators were trying to speak to Mr Lamarre-Condon, believing he may be able to assist with inquiries, but had been unable to find him.
According to The Australian, Mr Lamarre-Condon was spotted outside the Sydney house Kourtney Kardashian was staying in last week, attempting to have his photograph taken with her.
Police confirmed on Thursday evening that they were trying to locate a third person who “may be able to assist with the investigation”.
Beau Lamarre-Condon was a well known celebrity blogger before he became a cop.
Friends of Mr Baird said he previously expressed concerns for his safety.
“I’m so scared for his wellbeing,” a friend told The Daily Telegraph.
“He used the word stalker,” the friend said in relation to an unknown person.
Police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon (right) with Selena Gomez.
Mr Lamarre-Condon first hit headlines in 2014 when he was inspired by Lady Gaga’s visit to Sydney to announce to his family that he was gay.
The then 19-year-old threw a note revealing his sexuality on to the stage which Gaga read out to her thousands of fans.
The Born This Way singer then took Mr Lamarre-Condon backstage.
Mr Lamarre-Condon was back in the spotlight that same year when Miley Cyrus posed for a selfie with him, despite her security guard allegedly telling him to “f**k off”.
“She grabbed me around the waist, said ‘Of course you can get a photo,’ and she got her brother to take it,” Mr Lamarre-Condon said at the time.
After that he shared pictures of himself jetting around the world, either in first class or on private jets, with his Louis Vuitton luggage in tow.
He attended the 2016 Golden Globes, where he was photographed alongside A-listers including Selena Gomez, Kim Kardashian, Kirsten Dunst and Ryan Gosling.
He swapped the glamorous lifestyle in 2019 for life as a cop and was involved in the high-profile arrest of Indigenous man Kris Bradshaw, who was controversially tasered by Mr Lamarre-Condon while on the ground.
The viral video of the arrest shows Bradshaw being tasered multiple times at close range while screaming in pain.
Lamarre was later cleared by an internal investigation of any wrongdoing.
Missing men had been dating for a ‘few months’
Mr Davies grew up in Brisbane, but moved to Sydney in November of last year.
A friend said the pair had been dating for “a few months at most”.
“I spoke to Luke just before he moved from Brisbane to Sydney with work a few months ago,” she said.
“He was so excited for his next chapter and flying long haul. He’s such a lovely and charismatic person.”
Friend Tomas Mian, who has known Mr Davies for ten years, said his friends from home were shaken by the news.
“Luke has a lot of friends and is very fun social person. He is a kind and generous boy,” he said.
“He seemed to love his new job. All of his Brisbane friends are in utter shock to only find this out today.”
A colleague of Mr Davies, who asked not to be named, told news.com.au: “Everyone at Qantas is so shocked by this.”
In a statement, Qantas said they were providing support to staff who were friends with Mr Davies.
“Our thoughts are with family, friends and colleagues of our crew member at this very difficult time,” they said.
A former close colleague of Mr Baird from Studio 10, who declined to be named, was also shocked by the news.
“He’s such a lovely big hearted kid. A good kid. Everyone at Studio 10 loved him,” they said.
