Sydney murder case: Tributes flood in for Jesse Baird and Luke Davies
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Police say they are "very confident" that they have found the bodies of Luke Davies (left) and Jesse Baird (right)
Tributes have flowed in for Australian TV personality Jesse Baird and his partner Luke Davies, as relatives visit the site where their bodies were found.
Police located human remains inside "surf bags" on a rural property in Bungonia, south of Sydney, on Tuesday.
The discovery ends a search that has gripped and horrified Australia.
Police officer Beaumont Lamarre-Condon has been charged with murdering the couple, allegedly with his work-issued gun. He is yet to enter a plea.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was among those who paid tribute to Mr Baird and Mr Davies, offering condolences to their family and friends.
"They obviously were full of life... this is just a terrible incident," he said, adding that it was a "tough day" for the LGBT community.
Dozens of Mr Davies' friends held an intimate beach-side vigil in Sydney on Tuesday evening, lighting candles beside a portrait of the 29-year-old - who had recently landed his dream job as an international flight attendant for Qantas.
In tributes posted online, Mr Davies has been remembered as a beautiful soul with a "lust for life", a love of travel and a cheeky smile.
"I can't believe he's gone. What a tragic waste," his friend Rory Grant said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
A wall of floral tributes have been left outside Mr Baird's home
Meanwhile Mr Baird - a TV personality and Australian Football League umpire - has been remembered by loved ones as a talented, effervescent, and caring man.
His cousin, Austin Baird, described the 26-year-old as his "first ever best friend".
"I am beyond devastated... you were one in a million," he wrote on Instagram.
Mr Baird's peers at Network 10 have said he was more friend than colleague. "[He was] like a little brother. He had this big, beautiful smile [and] at 26 he was an absolute star," said Sarah Harris - the host of current affairs show the Project - in a teary on-air tribute on Sunday.
Police under scrutiny
In a series of press conferences this week, New South Wales (NSW) Police have shared a timeline of how they allege the killings of the Sydney couple unfolded.
Witnesses have said they heard "shouting" from inside Mr Baird's inner-city Paddington home on the morning of 19 February. Around 09:50 local time (22:50 GMT), neighbours heard gunshots but did not report them to police until days later.
Within minutes of the gunshots, an emergency call was made from Mr Davies' phone but quickly disconnected. Police say they sent a patrol car to Paddington to investigate the source of the call, but they could not determine the location it had originated from and did not enter Mr Baird's home.
Two more days passed before the couple's bloodied items were found in a bin in Cronulla, 28km (17 miles) away.
Police set up a crime scene at Mr Baird's house last Wednesday after finding a "significant" amount of blood and upturned furniture, as well as a bullet, apparently from Mr Lamarre-Condon's work-issued gun.
They also appealed for information and searched a family home in Balmain.
On Friday, Mr Lamarre-Condon handed himself in. The former celebrity blogger - who once dated Mr Baird - was charged with two counts of murder.
Investigators allege he spent the days after the alleged killings crisscrossing the state to try and cover his tracks - enlisting the help of what police say were at least two unwitting acquaintances.
In the hours after the deaths, police say Mr Lamarre-Condon hired a van to dispose of the men's bodies, and that he sent messages from Mr Baird's phone telling his friends he was moving to Western Australia.
Detectives began searching one property in Bungonia after allegedly learning Mr Lamarre-Condon had visited it, with a person they have described as an "innocent agent", last Wednesday.
After severing a lock on a gate, Mr Lamarre-Condon then left the female acquaintance there before driving the van on to the property and returning 30 minutes later, investigators said.
He was initially unwilling to co-operate with police but finally told them on Tuesday that the remains were located at another property in the same town, according to authorities.
Police officer Beaumont Lamarre-Condon is accused of murdering Jesse Baird and Luke Davies
NSW Police has come under fire for its handling of the case, with questions raised over the out-of-hours access officers have to their firearms and the vetting process for prospective recruits.
The police commissioner has also apologised after referring to the deaths as a "crime of passion" and using a Taylor Swift lyric to respond to criticisms of the force.
"There will always be haters, haters like to hate, isn't that what Taylor [Swift] says?" Karen Webb said on Tuesday.
Public broadcaster ABC News reported Commissioner Webb on Wednesday as saying Mr Lamarre-Condon had been served with a "show cause notice" in prison, the first step in removing him from the police force.
She said an investigation was taking place and she was "not aware" as to whether Mr Lamarre-Condon had an approved firearm safe at his home, adding: "Clearly, something's gone wrong."
The fallout led to NSW Police being uninvited from Sydney's iconic Mardi Gras celebrations this weekend.
Police have long had a difficult relationship with Sydney's LGBT community, but it was the first time since their initial inclusion in the event in 1998 that they had been asked to sit it out.
However on Wednesday, NSW Police and the Mardi Gras board struck a deal to let a reduced number of officers participate on the condition they march out of uniform, "in consideration of current sensitivities". A banner will identify them as police.
"This outcome allows for GLLO's [LGBT Liaison Officers] who volunteer their time and service to the community to participate in the event in a considered and respectful way as we navigate this tragedy together," the board said in a statement.
The Australian Federal Police have voluntarily withdrawn from the march this year.
"This decision was not taken lightly, but we acknowledge how some in the community are feeling about the blue uniform," a spokesperson said in a statement.
"We must always remember that this is an event for, and about LGBTQI+ communities, and those people who love and support them."
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