Shoe print and AFL kit show cop’s graphic kill clean-up
Tom Wark |
Heart-wrenching photos of discarded belongings have punctuated a double murder trial, but questions remain about how a victim’s DNA ended up on an officer’s gun.
Hundreds of photos of the blood-stained aftermath of the deaths of Luke Davies and Jesse Baird have dominated the second week of their alleged murderer’s trial.
Former senior constable Beau Lamarre-Condon, 31, has pleaded not guilty to the February 2024 murders, saying the two men died of gunshot wounds sustained in two separate violent struggles in ex-partner Mr Baird’s Sydney home.
Defence barrister John Stratton SC on Thursday will conclude cross-examination of crime scene officer Bronwyn Lansley, who agreed Mr Davies’ DNA was found on the officer’s gun.
“A swab was taken from the trigger of the gun … Luke Davies cannot be excluded as the major (DNA) contributor?” Mr Stratton asked the investigator.
“That is correct,” Sen Sgt Lansley responded.
Mr Davies accidentally killed himself when a deadly struggle occurred, Mr Stratton previously suggested while outlining his client’s claim for self-defence.
Lamarre-Condon never planned to kill or ever cause any harm to anyone at the home, he has told jurors.
Forensic evidence regarding belongings found in a bowling club skip bin was earlier shown to the jury, including numerous photos of items allegedly with the blood of Mr Baird, 26, and Mr Davies, 29.
Lamarre-Condon allegedly noticed the skip bin as a place to dump the belongings when driving through Cronulla the day after killing the two men, prosecutors say.
Bed sheets, clothes and a chest of drawers – allegedly with the DNA of the two dead men – were found by police in the overflowing bin, police have said.
On a quilt cover, a footprint can be identified in dried blood which matched the tread of a pair of Adidas shoes found in Bungonia, where the two men’s bodies were discovered, Sen Sgt Lansley said.
Also dumped were a set of four heavily stained AFL goal umpiring flags and league-branded shorts still in their packaging, the jury heard.
Mr Baird umpired in 62 AFL games including two finals during his four-year career in league football.
Personal items including a stuffed elephant toy, a silver watch and a wallet belonging to the two men were also dumped in the industrial bin by the officer, the jury heard.
Bullets and significant traces of blood were found throughout Mr Baird’s Paddington house, with a lot of the evidence discovered underneath the floorboards.
Three cars, two hired by Lamarre-Condon and his personal vehicle, were also extensively examined by forensic investigators with numerous blood stains found, Sen Sgt Lansley testified.
The trial continues.
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