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The senior media adviser to NSW’s top cop has been stood down after Commissioner Karen Webb was heavily criticized for her comments during the inquest into the deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies.
NSW Police confirmed on Wednesday that Liz Deegan, executive director of Public Affairs, had ‘served her last day’.
Ms Deegan had been in the role for almost a year after holding senior jobs at News Corp and the NRL.
She was the third person to hold the position since Commissioner Webb took charge of NSW Police two years ago.
The development comes after Commissioner Webb was criticized over her handling of the investigation by the death of the couple Luke Davies and Jesse Baird.
A senior media adviser to NSW’s top cop has paid the price after Commissioner Karen Webb was heavily criticized for comments she made during the inquest into the deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies.
Beaumont Lamarre-Condon, 28, is behind bars after being accused of murdering former Ten reporter Jesse Baird, 26, and flight attendant Luke Davies, 29, in Sydney on February 19.
Investigators allege Lamarre-Condon’s crimes followed a months-long campaign of “predation” that culminated in the alleged fatal double shooting.
The commissioner faced a storm of criticism, calling for her to resign from her $679,000-a-year job over her approach to the alleged murders.
It began when Mrs Webb took a number of days to front the media over the police investigation into the killings.
She was then forced to apologize after describing the deaths of Baird and Davies as a ‘crime of passion’ at a press conference about the case.
During a bizarre interview on Sunrise, the commissioner was confronted by Barr and her co-host Matt Shirvington and accused of ‘going into hiding’ during the week-long investigation.
She referenced a Taylor Swift lyric when she told the hosts: ‘There will always be haters. Haters like to hate. Isn’t that what Taylor says?’
‘I have a job to do. It is a big job. This is just one of many. We actually had seven murders last week.
“This is of course a complex matter. All we have to do now is find Jesse and Luke.’
After the bodies of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies (pictured) were found, Ms Webb came under further criticism when she told a press conference that police were “grateful” to the accused for helping police
Following the discovery of the couple’s bodies, Mrs Webb came under further criticism when she told a press conference that the police were “grateful” to the accused to assist the police.
Mitch Swanson, a close friend of Jesse Baird, hit out at the comment after the commissioner announced police had found the remains of Baird and Luke Davies in surfboard bags at a property in remote Bungonia in the NSW Southern Tablelands.
But in a subsequent interview with the Today Show, Commissioner Webb doubled down on his comment, telling host Sarah Abo that it was the families of the alleged victims who were grateful their remains had been found.
Sir. Swanson was upset when he heard Mrs. Webb’s seemingly thoughtless choice of words.
“Saying how grateful they are to (Lamarre-Condon) for disclosing information is just another blow to his family and friends,” Swanson wrote to friends.
‘He deserves no thanks at all. The police’s handling of this is an absolute train wreck.’
In a subsequent interview with the Today Show, Commissioner Webb doubled down on his comment, telling host Sarah Abo that it was the families of the alleged victims who were grateful that their remains had been found.