A 28-year-old policeman has been charged with the murder of TV presenter Jesse Baird and his boyfriend Luke Davies.
Baird, 26, was a presenter for Network 10’s morning show Studio 10, where he regularly served as a red carpet reporter, until the programme was cancelled in December last year.
He and his boyfriend - a Qantas flight attendant - were last seen on Sunday (18 February) evening in Paddington, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, with police expressing 'grave concerns’ when a ‘significant’ amount of blood was found in Baird’s home.
Their bloodied belongings were also found dumped in a skip in Cronulla, 17 miles away from the crime scene.
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Detectives say they still have not found Baird and Davies’ bodies, alleging they were killed at Baird’s Paddington home before being moved in a white van.
Policeman Beaumont Lamarre-Condon, Baird’s ex-boyfriend, has now handed himself in after being sought by police.
Detective Superintendent Daniel Doherty said a bullet matching Lamarre-Condon's service gun was found at Baird’s home, with the gun itself later found in a safe at the police station.
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He said it was crucial that the victims’ bodies are located to help provide answers to their ‘grieving’ relatives.
"They [the families] have received the news of the charging and what the charges are which is murder, so they have now been obviously devastated by the news,” Doherty told press.
"We believe there is sufficient evidence to proceed with those charges due to the evidence we have up-to-date and we continue to support and contact the family."
Doherty added: "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."
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Neighbours told police they heard ‘shouting’ and a ‘verbal argument’ at the home, while CCTV captured a white van that is believed to have been rented to dispose of the bodies.
The van was found in Newcastle, 70 miles north of Sydney.
Baird’s former colleagues have expressed their ‘shock’ over his disappearance, with Stacey Thompson - who worked with him on children’s TV show Totally Wild - telling the Daily Mail: "I'm shocked actually.
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“I worked with Jesse for a few years and we sat across from one another in the TW office.
“He was a lovely work friend, always professional and keen to learn.
“I prefer not to comment further at this time, until more details come to light."
Jess Hardiman