NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb has blamed ‘Taylor Swift fever’ for her bizarre decision to reference a pop song while discussing her force’s response to an alleged double murder.
Commissioner Webb faced a brutal grilling from A Current Affair host Deborah Knight on Tuesday after several of her comments about the alleged murders of Sydney couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies sparked controversy.
In a previous interview on Sunrise on Tuesday morning, Commissioner Webb used a clumsy reference to Taylor Swift when asked about the backlash to her earlier description of the two men’s deaths as a “crime of passion.”
‘Haters like to hate…isn’t that what Taylor [Swift] says?’ she said, quoting the pop star’s song Shake It Off.
She addressed the awkward mistake Tuesday night during her interview with Knight, suggesting it was somehow appropriate given that Swift was recently on tour in Australia.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb has blamed ‘Taylor Swift fever’ for her bizarre decision to reference a pop song while discussing her force’s response to an alleged double murder.
Luke Davies (left) and Jesse Baird (right) were allegedly shot dead by NSW Police Senior Constable Beau Lamarre-Condon last Monday.
Commissioner Webb repeatedly avoided questions from Deborah Knight (pictured) about his “leadership” by redirecting all attention to Baird and Davies.
“We just had Taylor Swift in town, it was Taylor fever here.” [in Sydney]’ he told Knight.
‘Certainly my efforts have been in research, and continue to be, to support the police and the work they do.
“That’s where the priority is, now it’s really about the families.”
The commissioner was also questioned about whether she realized she “should have spoken sooner” after taking several days to address the alleged double murder.
She insisted she was “certainly doing the job” and was unable to adequately respond to the alleged crime until Sunday because she “travels around the state a lot.”
When asked why she described the alleged murders as a “crime of passion,” Commissioner Webb referenced Swift (pictured) and said, “Haters like to hate.”
“I can’t be in two places at once,” he told A Current Affair.
“I have a great team and I’m here to do whatever it takes.”
Commissioner Webb also systematically avoided Ms Knight’s questions about his “leadership” by diverting attention back to Baird and Davies.
“It’s about Jesse and Luke,” he responded to Knight’s question about why he “remained silent over the weekend.”
‘I spoke to the families on Sunday and Monday. I called their families.
“We’ve invested all of our resources into this to make sure we reach the conclusion we reached today.” [discovering the bodies] and I am very satisfied with all the work that has been done.”
However, the commissioner’s excuses may have come too late after she used the word “grateful” to describe the reactions of police and victims’ families when suspect Beau Lamarre-Condon allegedly revealed the location of the bodies of the couple.
Lamarre-Condon, a senior constable with the New South Wales Police, was charged with two counts of murder on Friday, but waited until 11am on Tuesday to tell police where the bodies of the two young men could be found. .
Although the tone of Tuesday afternoon’s press conference was somber, Commissioner Webb’s formulation of the alleged killer’s cooperation was poorly received.
“We are very confident that we have located Luke and Jesse,” he said.
“I would also like to say that this information came with the help of the defendant, for which we are very grateful and I am sure the families are very grateful.”
Although the context of his statement was that police and the victims’ families were “grateful” the bodies were found, the attribution to Lamarre-Condon left a bitter taste.
Commissioner Webb was again criticized on Tuesday by Jesse Baird’s friend Mitch Swanson (pictured together) for saying police and victims’ families were “grateful” to the couple’s alleged killer for allegedly telling the police where their bodies were hidden.
Police allege Lamarre-Condon shot the couple in Sydney before making two trips to hide their bodies at two locations in Bungonia (pictured is a map showing key locations in the case).
Lamarre-Condon is alleged to have shot Channel Ten presenter Baird and her boyfriend, Qantas flight attendant Davies, with his police-issued Glock pistol on the terrace of Baird’s Paddington home, inside from Sydney, last Monday.
Lamarre-Condon then handed himself in to Bondi police station on Thursday and was charged with two counts of murder on Friday.
However, he allegedly refused to tell police that Baird and Davies’ bodies were hidden in surf bags at a Bungonia property on Jerrara Road until a lawyer advised him to help with the investigation on Tuesday.
Baird’s friend and Channel Ten co-worker Mitch Swanson was outraged by Commissioner Webb’s use of the word “grateful” and criticized her in a series of social media posts.
“Saying how GRATEFUL you are to the killer for revealing information is just another blow to his family and friends,” he wrote in one.
He doesn’t deserve any kind of thanks. The way the police have handled this is an absolute disaster.’
In another post, he said: ‘Heartbroken again. The boys have been found.
‘We are in no way grateful for the fact that the defendants helped the police find the bodies of our dear friends.
‘What a fucked up thing to say!’
Lamarre-Condon is alleged to have driven a rented van to Bungonia from Sydney last Wednesday, with an acquaintance, and purchased an angle driver and lock along the way.
He is alleged to have walked through a locked gate into a private driveway and left his acquaintance for 30 minutes while he allegedly disposed of the bodies.
He then returned to Sydney, but police allege he bought weights at 11pm that night before driving back to Bungonia.
His second visit is when investigators allege he may have moved the bodies to a new location, where they were found near the Jerrara Road fence on Tuesday.
Homicide squad commander Danny Doherty did not reveal what condition the bodies were discovered in, but said they were “covered in debris.”
‘We will allege [Lamarre-Condon] “He acted alone and he is the only person responsible for placing Luke and Jesse’s bodies in their current location,” he said.
Lamarre-Condon has been suspended without pay from the New South Wales Police and will appear in court in April.