Feb 23
Cop Ex-Boyfriend Charged in Slaying of Gay Australian Couple
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
A 28-year-old Australian police officer has been charged in the double murder of a gay couple – one of whom was the suspect's former boyfriend.
CNN reported that Beaumont Lamarre-Condon, identified as an officer with the New South Wales police, was charged on Feb. 23 in connection with the disappearance, and presumed murder, of television personality Jesse Baird, 26 – who media reports said was Lamarre-Condon's ex – and flight attendant Luke Davies, 29, with whom Baird had recently become romantically involved.
UK newspaper the Mirror reported that the officer had been arrested after "police found evidence a police firearm had been discharged at Baird's home in Paddington, Sydney. A cartridge case and a large amount of blood were found at the address."
Authorities say they traced the evidence to Lamarre-Condon's gun.
The Mirror wrote that Lamarre-Condon "was previously a celebrity blogger," while the Daily Mail labeled him as a "celebrity chaser."
"The shooting allegedly occurred just hours after [the couple] were last seen alive at a pre-Mardi Gras party night on Sunday [Feb. 18] at the Beresford Hotel in Surry Hills," the Mail relayed.
"Neighbors had come forward to report hearing a loud argument early Monday morning," CNN detailed.
"Later on Monday evening, Lamarre-Condon hired a white Toyota HiAce van from Mascot and allegedly used it to dispose of the couple's bodies, police said," the Mail article noted, before adding: "Detectives believe Lamarre-Condon then returned the alleged murder weapon to a police station's locked firearms safe on Tuesday."
Media accounts say that Lamarre-Condon was out of work claiming illness on Feb. 20, was absent from work on the 21st, but then turned himself in on the 22nd.
Bloodstained clothing and other personal effects belonging to both Baird and Davies were found in a dumpster on Feb. 21, the Mail reported, and that "discovery led police to Mr Baird's home in Paddington where pools of blood and blood-spattered furniture were found – sparking grave fears for the new lovers."
Bail was denied to Lamarre-Condon, who is due back in court on April 23.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
