NSW police officer Beau Lamarre charged with murder of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies

A 28-year-old serving police officer has been charged with two counts of murder during an investigation into the disappearance of former Channel Ten presenter Jesse Baird and his Qantas flight attendant partner Luke Davies.

Police on Friday alleged that ballistic testing at the Paddington home of Baird – a partner of the officer until a couple of months ago – found evidence a police firearm had been discharged. This included the discovery of one cartridge case, as well as a large amount of blood at the home.

The firearm used was later placed in a police gun safe.

Const Beau Lamarre, a former celebrity blogger, handed himself in at Bondi police station about 10.30am on Friday.

Detective superintendent Daniel Doherty of the New South Wales crime command’s homicide squad said the officer was part of a specialist team within the police force.

A white van sought by police has been located, and Doherty said it will be alleged in court that the van was used “to transport the bodies and dispose of the bodies”.

Doherty said the 28-year-old officer “hasn’t assisted us to date” as investigators seek information.

Bodies of the two men have not been located.

Police earlier raided a home in the Sydney suburb of Balmain – understood to be Lamarre’s family home – after announcing they were searching for a third person potentially linked to the disappearance of Baird, 26 and now an AFL goal umpire, and Davies, 29, who vanished from Sydney’s east on Monday.

Luke Davies, left, and Jesse Baird. Composite: NSW police/Network 10

Their disappearance is being treated as suspicious after bloody possessions belonging to both men were found in a skip bin in Cronulla on Wednesday, leading police to Baird’s blood-stained sharehouse 30km away in Paddington.

Lamarre ran a now-defunct celebrity website called the Australian Reporter which was deregistered in 2016.

In videos posted online, he can be seen interviewing celebrities including Russell Crowe.

Social media photographs depict Lamarre with a range of showbiz personalities including Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus.

In 2014, when he was a teenager, Lamarre was at a Lady Gaga concert in Sydney when he reportedly threw a note on the stage in which he came out as gay. He was later invited backstage by the singer, the Sydney Morning Herald reported in 2014.

Lamarre was also identified as the police officer who Tasered a man at close range during an arrest in 2020, an incident that was filmed and later went viral online.

The incident was investigated and Lamarre was cleared of wrongdoing.

On Thursday night NSW police said a third person could be involved. The ABC and several Sydney news outlets reported that the third man being sought was a serving police officer, Lamarre, who had previously been in a relationship with Baird.

“Investigations into the matter are ongoing,” police said before the man was taken into custody on Friday morning.

“Detectives are looking at a line of inquiry that a third person may be able to assist with the investigation. Police are currently trying to locate him.”

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Police executed a search warrant and “seized a number of items” from the Balmain home about 11.30pm on Thursday.

A property in Balmain was searched as part of the NSW police investigation. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Shouting had been heard by neighbours of Baird’s home in Paddington on Monday but that was not reported to police until they arrived on Wednesday afternoon.

Baird’s WhatsApp account was active as late as Tuesday night, leading detectives to appeal for him to come forward if he were able to.

Police said on Thursday evening: “Detectives will continue to look at all past relationships and associations. Anyone with information about Luke Davies and Jesse Baird’s whereabouts – or who may have information relevant to the investigation – should contact Crime Stoppers.”

Det Supt Jodi Radmore told reporters on Thursday she was open to the possibility that someone else was involved in the couple’s disappearance.

Police found blood when searching Baird’s Paddington home and discovered that furniture had been moved. Radmore said the amount of blood suggested someone had suffered a significant or major wound.

As well as presenting on the morning program Studio 10, Baird had taken to the field of AFL and VFL games as a goal umpire.

Photos from his and Davies’ social media accounts show them together at a Pink concert in Sydney the previous week.

One snap of the pair taken at the lighthouse at Palm Beach earlier this month reads: “Perfect start to a long weekend.”

This story was amended on 23 February 2024 to change Beau Lamarre’s age on updated advice from NSW police