Bodies of Australian TV Presenter Jesse Baird and Flight Attendant Luke Davies Found in Bushland

Detectives discovered the decomposing bodies of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies stacked together inside surfboard bags and partially covered with rocks, branches and foliage beside a fence on a rural property.

Images from the scene in Bungonia, around 200km south of Sydney, were shown in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday during Beau Lamarre-Condon’s double murder trial. Some of the most disturbing photographs were redacted.

Lamarre-Condon, a former police officer, has pleaded not guilty to allegedly shooting his ex-boyfriend, Baird, 26, and Baird’s new partner, Davies, 29, in Paddington on February 19, 2024.

The jury heard the men’s bodies were concealed in the surfboard bags for eight days during summer, without refrigeration, before police located them.

Senior Sergeant Christine Abela became emotional while giving evidence on Wednesday, telling the court she could smell the bodies as soon as she stepped out of the car. The odour grew stronger as she approached the fence.

Court-released photographs appear to show an alleged attempt to conceal the bodies beneath rocks, tree branches and foliage. The bright blue surfboard bags, however, remained clearly visible.

Ms Abela said Baird’s body had allegedly been placed inside a black garbage bag, then an inner surfboard bag and an outer bag. It was stacked on top of Davies’s body, which was also contained in inner and outer surfboard bags.

Both men were in an advanced state of decomposition, the court heard. Detectives were forced to identify them at the scene by comparing the rings and earrings on the bodies with photographs posted on their Instagram accounts.

Baird’s family was present when his remains were discovered at the property.

Ms Abela told the court that black garbage bags were found near the bodies, along with two keys: one for an iron security door and another house key that opened the front door of Baird’s rental property.

Former senior constable Greg Moon later testified that Lamarre-Condon had allegedly left several items of evidence near the bodies, including blood-stained bedsheets, his fingerprints and DNA, and a Budget car rental card bearing his name.

Lamarre-Condon is accused of hiring a van from a car dealership on the day he allegedly killed Baird and Davies, then using it to transport their bodies from Paddington to Bungonia.

Baird’s driver’s licence and passport were also found at the site, cut into several pieces. Investigators discovered Bunnings receipts that matched purchases prosecutors say Lamarre-Condon made in the days following the alleged murders.

The items included an angle grinder, gum boots, garbage bags, coveralls, gloves, cable ties, cement, a wheelbarrow, weights and high-vis clothing.

Prosecutors allege Lamarre-Condon was “obsessed” with Baird and unable to accept the end of their on-off relationship, which lasted from late 2022 until mid-2023.

The trial continues at 10am on Monday.