Inside prison meeting that unlocked mystery of slain couple’s last resting place
Police have given an insight into a prison meeting with accused killer cop Beau Lamarre-Condon led them to the bodies of murdered Sydney couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, as tributes continue to flow for the young pair.
NSW
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Police have given an insight into a prison meeting with accused killer cop Beau Lamarre-Condon which broke days of deadlock as officers scrambled to find the bodies of a murdered Sydney couple.
Hours later, the bodies of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies were uncovered in dark-coloured surfboard bags covered loosely in rocks and debris in the Southern Highlands.
Within two hours of NSW Police homicide detectives meeting with Lamarre-Condon, 28, and his lawyer at Silverwater prison on Tuesday, police raced to Jerrara Rd at Bungonia armed with the clues they’d been given, and located the two bodies they had worked around the clock to find.
Lamarre-Condon provided information about the bodies’ location to detectives at Silverwater Jail at 11am after he obtained legal counsel, NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald said.
“Look I’ve spoken to both those officers (in the meeting) and they relayed the story,” the assistant commissioner said to 2GB’s Ben Fordham.
“So we wanted to get out there as soon as he sought legal representation and we did that as soon as we could at 11am.
“Glen (Browne) and Sacha (Pinazza) went into a room out there at Silverwater Jail, he obviously wanted to talk to his lawyers and confirm that it was OK to talk to the police, he spoke to the lawyer.”
The assistant commissioner said it was a “logistical nightmare” for officers to pinpoint the exact location of the bodies due to the restrictions on equipment in the interview.
“And then it was a bit of a logistical nightmare because you can’t take phones or any other equipment in there and we wanted him to pinpoint where in Bungonia (allegedly) he had left the bodies,” he said to Ben Fordham.
“He took them and for what reason we will allege in court he came back again nearly 24 hours later and removed the bodies from that site and tried to secrete them in that street that leads up to the monastery in Bungonia.”
Mr Fitzgerald said the officers’ only priority was to locate the bodies and were not looking for any signs of remorse from the alleged killer.
“The homicide police didn’t go into great detail; their mission to go out there was purely to find where he left the bodies,” he said on 2GB.
“They certainly weren’t looking for his remorse or anything like that, their job is to find the truth and they did and I commend them for it.”
The police assistant commissioner said laws blocking parole if a victim’s body is never found could have played a part in the discovery of the slain couple.
“Look whilst I wasn’t in the room when he spoke to his legal representatives I have no doubt that it did,” Mr Fitzgerald said.
“I’d like to think that it would have had some impact, it’s certainly very important and very powerful legislation that the homicide squad and the state crime command really need.”
He also backed his commissioner Karen Webb after she was criticised for commending the alleged killer for telling police where the bodies were.
“I’m grateful that we removed some heartache from the family, we knew eventually with the technology we had out there eventually we’d find those bodies, but we thought it would be another 48 hours.”
“I’m very surprised with the criticism the commissioner’s gotten. She’s been nothing but supportive, she’s given us every resource known to man and woman to achieve the results we’ve got.
“Those words were words I can say were reiterated by us.”
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Originally published as Inside prison meeting that unlocked mystery of slain couple’s last resting place
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