- Beau Lamarre-Condon charged with murder
- Jesse Baird and Luke Davies allegedly murdered on February 19
A former police officer immediately called CrimeStoppers after becoming concerned about Beau Lamarre-Condon’s alleged behavior when he showed up at his home, police say.
Beau Lamarre-Condon allegedly drove the van to Newcastle, 165km north of Sydney, arriving around 8.30pm at the home of his police officer friend Renee Fortuna (pictured), where he allegedly borrowed a hose to clean the vehicle.
Police will allege that the 28-year-old officer shot Jesse Baird, 26, and Luke Davies, 29, on Monday, February 19, with his service weapon at the Channel 10 presenter’s home in Paddington, inner east Sydney.
He then allegedly rented a white rental van to dispose of the couple’s bodies before driving to Renee Fortuna’s Lambton home in Newcastle on Thursday night, where he borrowed a hose to clean the vehicle.
At the time of the visit, a massive and highly publicized search was underway for the two men after they were reported missing on Wednesday when their bloodied belongings were found dumped in a bin in Cronulla, in Sydney’s south.
Deputy Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald said Fortuna’s tip Thursday night was crucial to the investigation.
Beau Lamarre-Condon (pictured) has been charged with two counts of murder
“After the defendant came to her home, she became suspicious of what his motives were and (about) some of his statements,” she said police will allege.
“She subsequently contacted Crime Stoppers immediately after that.”
Ms Fortuna, who had previously left the police force, is not accused of any crime nor has any knowledge of the alleged murders.
Police will allege that Lamarre-Condon was in love with Baird and had been stalking the Channel 10 presenter in recent weeks before hatching a plan to kill him.
In previous days, he allegedly stole bullets from a shooting range to then reload his service weapon and had purchased a surfboard bag to dispose of the body.
Police will allege that Davies was not the intended target but was simply in the house when Lamarre-Condon broke in to commit the murder at around 9.50am last Monday.
Lamarre-Condon then allegedly shot them both, wrapped their bodies in a tarp and then hid them at the back of the property, before renting a van that same night to collect the bodies.
Jesse Baird (left) and Luke Davies (right) had recently started dating
Police will allege that he spent the next few days working to try to cover up his crimes: buying supplies to dispose of the bodies, throwing the men’s bloody belongings into a bin and sending text messages from Baird’s phone to loved ones.
He also allegedly purchased a second surfboard bag for his unwanted victim.
Lamarre-Condon then allegedly drove with another friend, who police said was an “innocent” party unaware of the situation, to a private property in Bungonia, where he dumped the bodies while making her wait at the front door for 30 minutes.
Police will allege he then returned to the property and relocated the men to a different location, 20 minutes away on Jerrara Road, after the friend became suspicious of his actions.
Lamarre-Condon turned himself in to police last Friday and was charged with two counts of murder and is currently in protective custody at the Silverwater Correctional Center.
His next appearance at the Sydney Downing Center Local Court will be on April 23.
