A witness told police she travelled with the accused in a van to the Goulburn area and bought an angle grinder. The information led investigators to search a rural property for the bodies of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies.
A Sydney court heard evidence about a white-van trip to a rural area near Goulburn two days after the alleged murders of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies. Detective Senior Constable Christine Abela testified that an acquaintance of accused former police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon, identified in the proceedings as Elizabeth Kennedy, told police she travelled with him in the van on February 21, 2024, and bought an angle grinder at Bunnings.
Kennedy gave what is known as an induced statement: she provided information on the condition that it would not be used against her in criminal proceedings. Abela said the account prompted police to begin searching for the men’s bodies on February 23. Kennedy did not know the property’s exact location, and the detective likened the search to finding a “needle in a haystack.”
The property near Bungonia was identified on February 25 and declared a crime scene after extensive searches. The court heard that a cut padlock was found at the gate and police used a drone to survey the farm. There were dams at the front and rear; officers found weights, large pieces of concrete and a small boat in one of them, according to the testimony. Wires to the property’s CCTV system had been cut, although the owner suggested cockatoos had damaged them.
Lamarre-Condon faces two murder charges and has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors allege he shot Baird and Baird’s new partner Davies at a Paddington home on February 19, 2024, and then tried to conceal the bodies. The defence says the gun discharged accidentally during a struggle, Davies was shot in a separate struggle, and Lamarre-Condon panicked and disposed of the bodies.
The bodies were found on February 27 in surfboard bags near a fence at a Greek Orthodox monastery, the court has heard. On Wednesday, crime-scene specialist Bridey Allan testified that forensic testing found DNA from at least three people on the grip and trigger of the police-issued Glock. The trial is continuing, and the jury will decide the case.