Homicide cop opens up on key moment she confronted alleged killer about quest to find the bodies of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies
The heroic homicide detective leading the investigation into the alleged murders of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies has spoken out about the emotional toll of the case that rocked Australia.
Detective Sergeant Sasha Pinazza is credited with solving the case after Mr Baird, 26, and Mr Davies, 29, were allegedly shot dead by Senior Constable Beau Lamarre-Condon in Sydney on February 19.
Lamarre-Condon, 28, has been charged with two counts of murder and remains in custody.
The bodies of Mr Baird and Mr Davies were found on February 27 on a rural estate in Bungonia, in the Southern Highlands of NSW.
NSW Police Detective Sergeant Sasha Pinazza has been credited with solving the case after Mr Baird, 26, and Mr Davies, 29, were allegedly shot dead
The crucial breakthrough came after Detective Pinazza and Chief Inspector Glen Browne interviewed Lamarre-Condon at Silverwater prison, when he allegedly revealed where the bodies were.
The veteran officer said the face-to-face moment left a lasting impact on her.
“The day you lose your humanity is the day you have to leave the police force,” she said The Daily Telegraph.
“My team knows it’s okay to cry. I cried in the car after I left prison, I cried when I met the families.”
On the day the bodies were found, a police press conference was held, with Detective Pinazza visibly exhausted and emotional.
The bodies of Jessie Baird and Luke Davies were discovered on February 27 on a rural property in the Southern Highlands of NSW.
During one point of the press conference, Sergeant General Pinazza answered a reporter’s question and was momentarily nervous when she got the journalist’s name wrong.
She apologized and said, “I’m exhausted, I’ve barely eaten or slept.”
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb thanked “all detectives who worked hard around the clock on this investigation” but singled out Pinazza as the officer responsible.
DS Pinazza said that on the rare occasions she was able to go home to shower and sleep, all she wanted to do was return to the investigation.
“You just want to get back to work because at that moment all you want to do is find Luke and Jesse,” she said.
Police had searched for the bodies in another area in Bungonia a day before they were found and were ‘deflated’ when this proved unsuccessful.
DS Pinazza said every day a missing person was not found was another day she felt like she was ‘letting their family down’.
Lamarre-Condon has been suspended without pay from NSW Police and will appear in court in April
After the press conference on the discovery of the bodies of Mr Baird and Mr Davies, the detective texted the family of missing Sydney woman Jessica Zrinski to let them know she had not given up their case.
Ms Zrinski was last seen in the Bossley Park area on November 27, 2022 at approximately 10pm.
CCTV footage showed her getting into a Blue Holden Commodore at a pub in Greenfield Park in Sydney’s south-west, but she was never seen again.
Lamarre-Condon has been suspended without pay from the NSW Police and will appear in court in April.