The bodies of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies lay hidden for days behind a mound of dirt on a quiet gravel track – with detectives likely passing the site several times as they investigated a nearby location during their week-long search for the two men.
Their remains were unearthed on Tuesday, more than a week after their alleged murder at the hands of Beau Lamarre-Condon – who finally decided to cooperate with police from behind bars after speaking with a lawyer.
Mr Lamarre-Condon – who was a senior constable with NSW Police at the time of the alleged double-murder but has since been stood down without pay – is accused of using his police-issued Glock pistol to shoot the couple in Baird’s rental terrace in Paddington, in Sydney’s inner suburbs, on February 19.
The two men’s bloody clothes were allegedly tossed in a skip bin in Cronulla, almost 30km away, before their bodies were hidden in surfboard bags.
Police allege Mr Lamarre-Condon then hired a white Toyota HiAce van from Sydney Airport and took the bodies about 180km south-west of Sydney to the small town of Bungonia, in the Southern Tablelands, and buried them in a shallow grave on a fence line on Jerrara Road.
Jesse Baird (left) and Luke Davies (right) were allegedly murdered on February 19
Their bodies were allegedly buried under a mound of dirt (pictured, right of the police officer) along a road in Bungonia. Police would have unknowingly driven past the bodies a number of times earlier in the week, during a search of another property about 20 minutes south
The temporary grave site was more of a gravel alcove next to the entrance to the Greek Orthodox Holy Monastery of Saint Fanourios church.
Police would have unknowingly driven past the bodies a number of times earlier in the week, during a search of another property about 20 minutes south.
A team of police officers spent Wednesday scouring bushland surrounding the site for evidence, with the assistance of a sniffer dog, picks and rakes.
Several items found near the bodies have now been collected as part of the investigation.
The heartbroken relatives of Mr Baird, who travelled to the area from interstate, visited the scene under police guard on Tuesday night.
Relatives spent about 15 minutes with Mr Baird’s body before driving away.
Beau Lamarre-Condon (pictured) is accused of gunning down TV presenter Jesse Baird and his flight attendant boyfriend Luke Davies
Meanwhile, the shattered friends of Mr Baird and Mr Davies gathered at Bronte Beach for a vigil.
The bodies were then taken to Lidcombe morgue, in Sydney’s west, while detectives remained on the scene in Bungonia.
Lamarre-Condon handed himself into Bondi Police Station on Thursday last week, before he was charged with two counts of murder on Friday.
Police found the remains by 1pm on Tuesday and contacted the families of Baird and Davies moments after that.
Lamarre-Condon’s matter is before the courts.
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