Australian police officer charged with murder of TV presenter and flight attendant boyfriend

An Australian police officer has been charged with the double murder of a TV presenter and his flight attendant boyfriend, whose bodies have yet to be found.

Beau Lamarre, a 28-year-old serving police constable, was detained after a high-profile three-day search across Sydney, Det Supt Danny Doherty said.

Earlier this week, the chance discovery of bloodied clothes in a suburban rubbish bin led detectives to the home of former red carpet host and entertainment journalist Jesse Baird, 26.

On searching Mr Baird’s inner-city flat, detectives said they found “a large amount of blood” and held “grave concerns” for both him and his boyfriend, Luke Davies, a 29-year-old Qantas flight attendant. Both are presumed dead.

A projectile found at the apartment matched that of a police-issue firearm, which has since been found inside a police station safe.

The accused officer had reportedly been with Mr Baird, a presenter on Australia’s Network Ten, but the relationship recently ended and on bad terms.

On Friday the officer turned himself in to Bondi Police Station, near the country’s famed beach.

Footage of the arrest shows him handcuffed and escorted into the building wearing a dark baseball cap and sneakers. He remains in custody and police will oppose granting bail.

Australian media reported that the suspect had been a celebrity chaser and blogger before joining the police force, and had been photographed with Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Ben Stiller and scores of others.

He was previously investigated over the aggressive tasering of an Aboriginal man in 2020, after video of the incident emerged online.

News reports from 2014 indicate that he came out publicly as gay by throwing a letter onstage at a Lady Gaga concert, which the star read out to a crowd that included his sister.

Mr Doherty added that the police focus was now on locating the bodies of the two missing men, whose remains are suspected to have been transported in a white van before being disposed of. Forensic examinations of the van are ongoing.

“It’s really important that we do locate the bodies, not only for the cause of death but also for answers for the family who are grieving,” said Mr Doherty.