Police sent car after triple-zero call from alleged murder victim’s phone

Police sent a patrol car searching for the source of a triple-zero call that was made from the mobile phone of Luke Davies at 9.54am last Monday – four minutes after gunshots were allegedly heard in the Paddington terrace where Davies’ boyfriend Jesse Baird lived.

But that phone was disconnected without any communication, and because it was registered to Davies’ home in Waterloo, the police tasked with “concern for welfare” job patrolled Paddington but with no specific information to go on. The phone’s signal was triangulated to the suburb, without an exact location.

Police believe Davies and Baird were murdered by serving police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon inside the Brown Street terrace.

Deputy Commissioner David Hudson said police had not determined whether the triple-zero call was made by Davies.

“I’d rather investigate than speculate,” he said. “It will form part of the ongoing investigation.”

Police will allege Lamarre-Condon, who is in custody but not speaking to police on legal advice, used his Glock service pistol to kill the two men before placing their bodies in a rented van and driving south to hide them.

Police divers are seen leaving the Bungonia property on Monday.Credit: Nick Moir

Detectives are focusing on a narrowing window of time between 11pm last Wednesday and 4.30am on Thursday morning, in which they believe Lamarre-Condon returned alone to a Southern Tablelands farm to hide the bodies of the two men after allegedly visiting the farm earlier that day with another person.

“We believe that it is possible the accused, in that gap in the timeline, has returned to that property and retrieved the bodies and disposed of them somewhere else,” said Hudson. “The accused has not disclosed where Jesse and Luke are.”

The grim search continued on Monday, when police divers scoured two dams on the farm at Hazleton Road in Bungonia, about 33 kilometres south of Goulburn. Divers left the property shortly after 1pm but a search continued on the 70-hectare property, with a team of officers using rakes to search for evidence in grass and bushes.

Hudson said on Monday that Lamarre-Condon had allegedly made a “partial confession” last Tuesday to an acquaintance about involvement in the killing of two people, but that this evidence was not reported to police immediately.

After hiring a white Toyota HiAce van from Sydney airport on Monday night, police believe that on Wednesday Lamarre-Condon drove to Bungonia with a female friend in the van, potentially transporting the couple’s bodies.

On the same day, Baird and Davies’ bloodied clothes were found in a skip bin in Cronulla.

Police allege the pair bought an angle grinder and a new padlock at Bunnings in Goulburn on Wednesday evening before travelling to the Bungonia property, which police believe Lamarre-Condon was familiar with because of a prior relationship. The owner of the property said they had no knowledge of Lamarre-Condon and were co-operating with the police search.

Beau Lamarre-Condon, Jesse Baird, Luke Davies and the Paddington home where police allege the double murder took place.Credit: Instagram/Sydney Morning Herald

The woman who travelled with Lamarre-Condon is co-operating with police. She has told them she was not aware of his alleged crimes, what he was doing on the property, or that there may have been two bodies in the back of the van.

There is no suggestion the woman is involved in any wrongdoing.

After he used the angle grinder to cut the lock on the gate to the property, police believe Lamarre-Condon left the female friend at the gate while he went into the property for about half an hour. The new padlock was then used to lock the gate after he returned.

The two then drove back to Sydney, police said.

A Google maps view of the search area off Hazelton Road at Bungonia.Credit: Google maps

“At 11pm that evening, weights were purchased from a department store by the accused and it is believed that the accused returned to that property,” Hudson said.

At 4.30am on Thursday, Lamarre-Condon was seen leaving the Bungonia area again, Hudson said.

He then travelled to the city again before driving the van to an acquaintance in Newcastle on Thursday, where he asked for a hose to clean the vehicle.

The van was later dumped at a family home in Grays Point, before Lamarre-Condon turned himself in at Bondi police station.

The focus of Monday’s search was a property called “Cella Farm”, where the two dams are located.

Hudson said police were concerned the bodies may have been moved from the Bungonia address and disposed of at a different location during a gap in the timeline.

“It is our number one priority at this moment to try and locate Jesse and Luke to give the family some solace and be able to come to terms with what’s occurred,” Hudson said.

Lamarre-Condon’s former relationship with Baird is a key part of the investigation into the deaths, which NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb described as an alleged “crime of passion”.

Hudson said police are investigating earlier incidents involving Lamarre-Condon at the Paddington home, including a time he allegedly entered the property to access Baird’s phone.

“We believe that he had utilised a key to enter those premises. We believe that he took possession of Jesse’s phone and deleted contacts and messages out of that phone before leaving the premises,” Hudson said.

Lamarre-Condon’s gun was signed out of Miranda police station on Friday, February 16, for the purposes of his work on a “user pays” police operation.

These events, usually the monitoring of protests, allow officers to pick up extra shifts and fees are paid by organisations.

The gun was later stored at Balmain police station after the alleged murder before being later returned to Miranda.

One acquaintances Lamarre-Condon spoke to after the alleged murder was a former police officer, Hudson has alleged.

Police also allege Lamarre-Condon sent messages from Baird’s phone after the alleged murder, including to various friends, telling them he intended to move to Western Australia and sell his furniture.

Tributes have flowed for the couple, while a friend of Davies set up a fundraising page to raise money for his family and funeral expenses.