Lamarre-Condon defense argues body disposal reflected panic over unexpected deaths

Retired crime scene officer testifies bodies found in two surfboard or stand-up paddleboard bags

The third week of Beau Lamarre-Condon’s double murder trial at the NSW Supreme Court has pivoted to how investigators found the remains in rural New South Wales, with 15 jurors shown photographs of the decomposed bodies of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies.

Lamarre-Condon, 31, a former NSW police officer, has pleaded not guilty to the February 2024 murders of Baird, 26, and Davies, 29. Most of the family members of Baird, a former television presenter, and Davies, a Qantas flight attendant, have not been present in court for the forensic evidence.

Retired crime scene officer Greg Moon, who coordinated the forensic sweep of the Greek monastery at Bungonia where the men’s bodies were found, continued giving evidence on Thursday about the condition of the remains. Justice Natalie Adams warned jurors on Thursday they would see confronting photos of decomposition.

Moon told the court the bodies were discovered inside two surfboard or stand-up paddleboard bags, with the smaller bag containing the body zipped up inside a larger one. He said the bodies were discovered one on top of the other, with rocks and small branches placed on top.

Moon said there were multiple indicators that the remains had been at the monastery, about 20km from Cella Farm, for several days. “A large number of maggots and other insects were present in the bags along with other decompositional fluids,” he said.

Fellow investigator Christine Abela told the jury on Wednesday that she immediately knew something was amiss when she first arrived at the rural property more than a week after the two men were killed in the summer of 2024. “There was a strong smell as soon as I got out of the car,” she said. “The scent of a decomposing body.”

Abela detailed how investigators found concrete blocks, a gym weight and a cut padlock at Cella Farm, where Lamarre-Condon allegedly unsuccessfully attempted to sink the bodies in a dam.

Lamarre-Condon’s efforts to clean up and dispose of Baird and Davies’ bodies have come under scrutiny during the trial. His barrister says the actions to dispose of their bodies at Bungonia, 200km south of Sydney, were indicative of his panic about the unexpected deaths.

Earlier in the trial, jurors were shown CCTV of the alleged actions the senior constable took in the hours after the killings, including buying a second surfboard bag and hiring a larger second vehicle. The footage, released by the court on Thursday, allegedly shows the heavily disguised Lamarre-Condon returning to the alleged murder scene laden down with cleaning products and a tarpaulin.

The 12-week trial continues.