News presenter Sandra Sully has fought back tears on live television as Network 10 broadcast a heartbreaking tribute to her former colleague Jesse Baird after his body was found.
Suspected cop killer Beau Lamarre-Condon is accused of murdering former TV presenter and Luke Davies on Mr Baird’s terrace in Paddington town center last Monday before dumping their bodies in a shallow grave in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales.
The remains of Mr Baird and his new boyfriend Mr Davies were finally recovered by police on Tuesday afternoon, ending an extensive five-day search for the missing couple that stretched from Newcastle in the north to Goulburn in the south.
A day later, Ten News broadcast a special tribute celebrating Mr Baird’s life and his six-year stint with the network in various roles, first in Brisbane and then in Sydney.
An emotional Sully struggled to maintain composure as she introduced the segment and asked viewers to remember Jesse as a talented and caring young man.
An emotional Sandra Sully held back tears as she introduced the segment.
Network 10 aired a powerful tribute to former host Jesse Baird on Wednesday night.
“We want to pay tribute to our friend and former colleague Jesse Baird, his murder along with that of his partner Luke Davies has shaken Network 10. Our hearts go out to their family and friends,” Sully began as he fought back tears.
‘We want to remember Jesse for the man he was, and not how he died.
“Incredibly talented, funny, beautiful inside and out, and forever loved and missed.”
The segment narrated by former Studio 10 colleague Angela Bishop featured a video montage of Mr Baird in various roles, including interviewing stars on the red carpet, driving around the race track in a V8 Supercar and bungee jumping.
He also bravely interviewed Collingwood Magpies fans while wearing a Brisbane Lions scarf and jersey in the run-up to last year’s AFL grand final.
Mr Baird was also an AFL goal referee at the highest level and confirmed last year’s goal kicked by his beloved Lions.
“It was a clip that he didn’t mind showing us more than once. But we didn’t care,” Bishop explained.
“Because just being around Jesse was something special.”
“A brilliant colleague, a loyal friend, a beloved son and brother and the life of every party.”
Sully and Bishop are among a host of Network 10 stars who have paid tribute in recent days, including Hugh Riminton, Lachlan Kennedy and Josh Holt.
Jesse Baird was a roving reporter and fill-in presenter for Studio Ten until the show was axed.
News anchor Narelda Jacobs also collapsed on air last Friday night while reporting on Lamarre-Condon’s arrest and indictment for the murders of Mr. Baird and her new boyfriend.
Baird was a fresh-faced teenager when he landed his first TV gig on the children’s show Totally Wild.
He was a long-time roving reporter at Studio 10 and sometimes served as co-host before the weekday morning show was recently axed.
The remains of Baird and Davies were unearthed on Tuesday after being found behind a mound of earth near Bungonia, in the southern tablelands of New South Wales.
The two men’s bloodied clothes were allegedly thrown into a bin in Cronulla, almost 30 kilometers away, before their bodies were hidden in surfboard bags.
Police allege Lamarre-Condon then rented a white Toyota HiAce van from Sydney Airport and took the bodies about 180 kilometers southwest of Sydney, before burying them in a shallow grave in a fence on Jerrara Road.
The temporary tomb was more of a gravel niche next to the entrance to the church of the Holy Greek Orthodox Monastery of Saint Fanourios.
Police had unknowingly walked past the bodies several times earlier in the week during a search at another property about 20 minutes south.
However, officers were ultimately unable to find the couple’s bodies until their Lamarre-Condon allegedly told them where they were.
A team of police spent Wednesday combing the bush surrounding the site looking for evidence, with the help of a sniffer dog, pickaxes and rakes.
Lamarre-Condon handed himself in to Bondi police station on Thursday last week, before being charged with two counts of murder on Friday.
Police found the remains at 1pm on Tuesday and contacted the families of Baird and Davies moments later.
Lamarre-Condon’s The matter is before the courts.