Accused double murderer Beau Lamarre-Condon waited until he finally spoke to a lawyer before telling police where to find the bodies of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies..
Police announced at a news conference on Tuesday that they were “very confident” they had found the bodies of 26-year-old Baird and 29-year-old Davies at a property in Bungonia, about 180 kilometers south of Sydney.
Lamarre-Condon, 28, is said to have shot the pair dead on Baird’s rented patio in Paddington, on the outskirts of Sydney, last Monday with his police-issued Glock pistol.
He turned himself in to police on Friday and was charged with two counts of murder, but had refused to tell investigators where the bodies were until Tuesday morning..
At a press conference that afternoon, NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald was asked why the suspect had ultimately cooperated.
Police believe they have found the bodies of missing men Jesse Baird (right) and Luke Davies (left)
It is believed that Detective Sergeant Pinazza, the officer in charge, and another officer, Detective Chief Inspector Glen Browne, were the police who visited the suspect at Silverwater Prison at around 11am on Tuesday.
It was during this meeting that Lamarre-Condon, a former celebrity blogger who became a senior officer in the NSW Police, reportedly told them where the bodies were located..
He had previously refused to help police find the remains of the two men, but changed his tune after hiring a lawyer.
Police found the bodies three hours later, around 1pm, and within minutes they had notified Baird and Davies’ families.
“The suspect was finally given legal advice this morning and we were then sent straight to prison and asked for his help,” Deputy Commissioner Fitzgerald told reporters.
“There was an attempt at an interview with him (when he was first arrested), but this is the first time he has volunteered information to us.”
NSW Police have alleged Lamarre-Condon, 28, shot the lovers at Mr Baird’s rental home in Paddington, in Sydney’s east, at 9.50am last Monday.
Police said on Tuesday they were “very confident” they had found the bodies of 26-year-old Baird and 29-year-old Davies at a property in Bungonia, south of Sydney.
Before the groundbreaking interview at Silverwater prison, investigators had searched a remote property in Bungonia earlier this week, including several dams, but were unable to find the remains.
The bodies were eventually discovered at a second crime scene at a different location in the same suburb, about 20 minutes away.
Lamarre-Condon is said to have driven to the area in a rented van with an acquaintance last Wednesday and bought an angle screwdriver and a padlock along the way.
He allegedly cut through a padlocked gate to access a private road and left the acquaintance for 30 minutes while he allegedly disposed of the bodies.
He then returned to Sydney, but police allege he bought weights at 11pm that evening before driving back to Bungonia, where they allege he then moved the bodies to a new location.
The van is believed to have left the Bungonia area around 4.30am on Thursday in a possible attempt to move the bodies to a new location, police said.
Two surfboard bags were found at the crime scene.
“There appears to have been an attempt to cover the bodies with stones and rubble,” said Detective Chief Inspector Danny Doherty.
The families of Mr Baird and Mr Davies have been informed of the update in the investigation.
Lamarre-Condon has been suspended without pay from the NSW Police Force.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said there will be an investigation into how the suspect was allegedly able to commit two murders with his police rifle.
“That should never happen again,” she said.
‘We must look for ways to limit that risk as best as possible.’
She also said there will be an investigation into the police’s internal systems and access to firearms.
The shift in focus followed new details emerging about Lamarre-Condon reportedly undergoing surgery hours after he was accused of shooting the two men.
The celebrity hunter turned police officer was said to have been booked for abdominal surgery last Tuesday, 24 hours after the couple was allegedly murdered.
A timeline outlined on Monday by NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson alleged Lamarre-Condon, 28, shot the couple at Mr Baird’s home in Paddington, Sydney’s east, at 9.50am last Monday .
Lamarre-Condon is said to have rented a white Toyota HiAce van from Sydney Airport before returning to the $3 million rented terrace house to collect their bodies on Monday evening, when the van was caught on CCTV outside the house.
On Tuesday, police claimed the officer made “partial confessions” about the killings to an acquaintance, but the alarm was only raised on Wednesday after the couple’s bloodied clothes and belongings were found in a container in Cronulla, in Sydney’s south.
Lamarre-Condon reportedly went to the hospital for day surgery last Tuesday – a day after the alleged shooting, 2GB Radio reported.
The day after the operation, Lamarre-Condon is said to have driven the van 180km south of Sydney to Bungonia with a female acquaintance to a remote property in an apparent attempt to dump the bodies at one of several dams.
Lamarre-Condon then allegedly drove the van to Newcastle, 165km north of Sydney, arriving at the home of police officer Renee Fortuna at around 8.30pm on Thursday, where he allegedly borrowed a hose to clean the vehicle.
There is no suggestion that Ms Fortuna knew what Lamarre-Condon allegedly did or was involved in any criminal offence.
Lamarre-Condon is then said to have driven back to Sydney to his uncle Brian Lamarre’s home in Grays Point, in Sydney’s south, before dawn on Friday morning, later reporting himself to Bondi police station at 10.39am.
Police are conducting a search in Bungonia, in the NSW Southern Tablelands, on Monday