‘Strong smell’: Detective breaks down speaking about search for bodies of Beau Lamarre-Condon’s alleged victims

A detective fought back tears recalling details of the search for the bodies of a Sydney couple Beau Lamarre-Condon allegedly murdered, telling a jury about the moment she sensed a “strong smell”.

Former police officer Mr Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to murdering Jesse Baird and his new partner Luke Davies at the journalist’s Paddington home in Sydney on February 19, 2024.

The 31-year-old is arguing self-defence as he fights the murder allegations before a jury trial in the NSW Supreme Court.

The couple’s bodies weren’t found until eight days after their deaths, with Mr Lamarre-Condon accused of stuffing them into surfboard bags and trying to sink their bodies in a dam at Cella Farm in Bungonia before allegedly dumping them along the fenceline of a Greek monastery about 20km away.

The breakthrough in the search for the couple’s bodies came when Detective Senior Constable Christine Abela, who had been searching Cella Farm based on a chat she had with Mr Lamarre-Condon’s friend, was led to the monastery based on further information she was given on February 27.

She recalled sensing a “strong smell as soon as (she) got out of the car” at the monastery during her evidence on Wednesday.

“You recognise that kind of smell from your police work?” prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC asked her.

“Yes … It was the scent of decomposing, a decomposing body.”

Senior Constable Abela choked up as the jury was told the smell got “stronger” as she approached two surfboard bags stacked on top of each other covered with sticks and rocks, which the jury was told contained the couple’s bodies.

It was difficult for detectives to identify them due to the decomposition, with the jury told Senior Constable Abela needed to use Instagram photos of the couple to match jewellery worn by the two men.

Mr Lamarre-Condon remained stony-faced as photographs of the surfboard bags at the property were shown in court.

Several of the couple’s loved ones left the court for this portion of the evidence, with one woman who remained in the court visibly distressed as Senior Constable Abela spoke about the “smell” of the bodies.

The jury was told some of Mr Baird’s loved ones had attended the property where the couple’s bodies were found along with a series of officers.

Two keys were found near the bodies, Senior Constable Abela said, with footage shown to the jury revealing the keys were later tested at Mr Baird’s home and unlocked the front doors to his home.

In the video, Senior Constable Abela removes flowers placed inside the metal security door in order to test the keys.

The jury was also told how information from Mr Lamarre-Condon’s friend, known for legal reasons as Elizabeth Kennedy, led police to Cella farm after she attended Bondi Police Station with her solicitor and spoke with Senior Constable Abela on February 23.

The jury was previously told Mr Lamarre-Condon turned himself in to police on February 23, with prosecutors alleging he knew by then he was a suspect in the couple’s disappearance.

Ms Kennedy told police she had gone on a drive with Mr Lamarre-Condon in a white van days before, and she bought an angle grinder at Bunnings before they drove to a farm where the former officer allegedly cut the padlock of the gate.

Senior Constable Abela told the jury she suspected the bodies of Mr Baird and Mr Davies may be at the property after speaking with Ms Kennedy, sparking a days-long search to find the farm and the bodies.

Ms Kennedy could not remember where the property was but recalled the letters C, U, L, L being in the farm’s name, the jury was told.

The employee at Bunnings Goulburn who sold the angle grinder told other investigators around this time that they had mentioned Bungonia while purchasing the item, the jury was told.

Searching for the farm was like “trying to find a needle in a haystack”, Senior Constable Abela said, but she managed to find Cella Farm on February 25.

She found a cut padlock in the letterbox along, while other officers discovered weights and large blocks of cement at the property after it was declared a crime scene.

Various dams were also searched.

Prosecutors previously alleged Mr Lamarre-Condon tried to sink the couple’s bodies in a dam at a farm by pouring cement into the surfboard bags he had stuffed their bodies into, and using weights.

Ms Kennedy made a statement under the promise that what she disclosed would not be used against her in any criminal proceedings, the jury was told.

The trial continues.