News that’s close to home

A Sydney-based same-sex couple was allegedly murdered by New South Wales police officer, Beau Lamarre-Condon on 19 February. Luke Davies, a 29-year-old Qantas flight attendant, was killed alongside his 26-year-old partner Jesse Baird, a popular TV presenter, at Baird’s home in the nearby suburb of Paddington. Luke is shown far left in the image above.

For a myriad of reasons, this crime has attracted intense media attention. First, Sydneysiders are shocked that an officer of the law, sworn to protect others, would commit such a callous pre-mediated act. People are equally stunned he used a police-issued firearm, which he kept at home for days, before finally using it to commit murder. 

The crime appears to have been driven by a delusional obsession with Jesse Baird. Stories are emerging of the accused cop stalking him for months, breaking into his home, accessing his phone, and trolling him online. Understandably, commentators are asking how anyone with such dysfunctional behaviour found his way into the force and then went unnoticed as he stalked another man.

Sadly, these men were murdered during the LGBTIQA+ community’s annual Mardi Gras festival. This event has a complex history of both activism and police brutality, after a protest march in 1978 resulted in dozens of people being beaten and arrested by local officers. In recent years, a Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes uncovered systematic failures by the force to protect and defend the rights of community members. 

Understandably, news of a police officer killing a same-sex couple has cast a shadow over the festival. The community's grief and anger have then been compounded by the NSW Police Commissioner’s clumsy actions. Days after news of the murders broke, she formally apologised for the force’s failure to investigate past gay hate crimes, including unsolved homicides. For a second time in a week, the community was reminded of the violence and hatred it had experienced at the hands of police.

In a strange twist of fate, Garry and I recently met Luke Davies. He was a cabin attendant on our flight to Europe last month. He served us and fellow first-class passengers on the Sydney to Singapore leg. We also witnessed him caring for an elderly man with dementia, and his distressed wife, during the flight.

Luke is also a former resident of Moore Park Gardens, the residential complex where we live. Apparently, he owned a small dog that he’d walk daily in the local dog park. I don’t recall ever meeting him. However, some of our dog-owning friends knew him well.

The proximity of Luke’s life and death is rather unnerving. I can honestly say it’s the first time I’ve ever had any personal connection with a murder victim. 

Image: Sydney Morning Herald