Cop charged with murder of missing men
A police officer has been charged with the murder of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, as more details come to light about the sudden disappearance of the couple.
Beau Lamarre, a former celebrity blogger and serving constable, presented to Bondi Police station about 10.30am on Friday in relation to the disappearance of Jesse, 26, and his flight attendant partner Luke, 29.
Mr Lamarre previously dated Mr Baird and Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said on Friday the end of their relationship, a couple of months ago, was “a line of inquiry” they were continuing to pursue.
Since the men disappeared, their family and friends had shared allegations with police of “some worrying behaviours”, he said.
The couple’s bodies have not been found.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said examination of the home Mr Baird and Mr Davies shared in Paddington, where a large amount of blood had been found, also uncovered a fire cartelidge case and a “projectile that had been discharged”.
He alleged the firearm and the projectile had been matched to Mr Lamarre’s police issued gun.
When asked if officers were allowed to take their firearms home when not on duty, Supt Doherty said: “They have authority to do that but I’m not saying that that is the case in this matter.”
It is alleged Mr Lamarre later checked his gun back into a suburban police station safe.
Mr Lamarre was on full duties with NSW Police at the time and was working in a specialist command.
He appeared briefly in Waverley Local Court on Friday afternoon, sitting in the dock in a black tshirt just hours after handing himself into police.
According to court documents, Mr Baird and Mr Davies were both allegedly killed by Mr Lamarre at Paddington between 12.01am and 5.30pm on Monday.
He did not apply for bail on Friday and was ordered to reappear in court on April 23.
Authorities were first alerted to the pair’s disappearance after their belongings were located in a skip bin on Wilbar Ave in Cronulla about 11am on Wednesday — three days after the Mr Davies was last seen in Paddington in Sydney’s inner east.
It is understood an employee of a nearby venue was throwing away some rubbish when they found the bloodied clothing, a mobile phone, credit cards and car keys dumped in the bin and reported it to police.
It has not yet been established who the mobile phone belongs to.
Following the discovery, NSW Police officers visited a home on Brown St in Paddington about 1pm, where a crime scene was immediately established.
Upturned furniture and large amounts of blood were found inside the home and Detective Superintendent Jodi Radmore confirmed the amount of blood discovered could be consistent with a fatality.
Det Supt Doherty from crime command homicide squad said the family had been notified of the murder charges against Mr Lamarre.
“Our thoughts and condolences go out to the family,” he said.
Police allege Mr Lamarre killed Mr Davies and Mr Baird sometime on Monday at the house in Paddington.
Det Supt Doherty told media on Friday Mr Lamarre took the day off from work on Tuesday.
One casing has been found.
Det Supt Doherty alleged Mr Lamarre hired a white van on Monday night from Mascot around 9.30pm to transport the bodies of Mr Baird and Mr Davies. Police are still searching for the bodies.
Police said there was a “sighting” of Mr Lamarre’s van in Newcastle on Thursday night and then the van left early in the morning.
It was found in Grays Point on Friday.
Mr Lamarre voluntarily handed himself into the Bondi Police Station, the police said.
He was an active police officer in a specialist command unit.
Police believe he is the sole person responsible for the alleged murders.
The cause of death for the pair has yet to be determined and police are now working to fit together a full timeline of events.
“Witnesses described a verbal argument but it wasn’t reported to police at the time, it was only reported to police yesterday during the canvas (of neighbours),” Detective Superintendent Jodi Radmore said on Thursday.
Following the second discovery, police attended Mr Davies’ Waterloo home but were not able to locate him.
About 11.30pm on Thursday, police executed a search warrant at a Waite Avenue home in Balmain, Mr Lamarre’s family home, and seized a number of items.
On Friday, NSW police officers were seen canvassing a street in the Newcastle suburb of Lambton, about 165km north of Sydney.
The street was sealed off after a white van matching the description of the van belonging to police officer Beau Lamarre was spotted near Lambton Pool.
