Jesse Baird and Luke Davies knew their suspected murderer.
Human remains believed to belong to the couple were discovered on Feb. 27 after Beaumont Lamarre-Condon—a New South Wales police officer who has been charged with Baird and Davies' murders—disclosed the location of the bodies according to local law enforcement.
According to the BBC, Lamarre-Condon—a 28-year-old senior constable who formerly dated Baird—turned himself into authorities on Feb. 23, four days after the couple were reported missing. At a crime scene set up at Baird's house, police reportedly found a "projectile" matching that of Lamarre-Condon's work-issued gun. He was subsequently charged with two counts of murder and remains in jail after being denied bail. He has likewise not entered a plea at this time.
Though he was in police custody for days prior to the bodies' discovery, Lamarre-Condon did not disclose information to the police under legal counsel, according to local station 9 News. The outlet, citing police, also reported that in the morning of Feb. 27, Lamarre-Condon changed his counsel, which is when he cooperated with the authorities.
E! News has attempted to reach legal counsel for Lamarre-Condon but has not been able to do so at this time and has reached out to police for further comment.
"We are very confident that we have located Luke and Jesse," NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said during a press conference that day. "This information did come with the assistance of the accused, for which we are very grateful and I'm sure the families are very grateful."
Detective Superintendent Daniel Doherty said during the Feb 27 conference that the bodies were discovered in two surf bags covered in debris on a property in the town of Bungonia.
Concerns about the wellbeing of Baird, 26, and Davies, 29, began on Feb. 19 after their families were unable to get in contact with them. Fears then mounted after some of the couple's belongings were discovered bloodied in a dumpster container about 18 miles away from Baird's home, per CNN.
Authorities believe Lamarre-Condon first dumped the bodies on Feb. 20 after transporting them in a white van with the assistance of an unnamed acquaintance—who police clarified was not an accomplice and was unaware of what they were transporting, per CBS News. He then allegedly returned the following day to move the bodies a second time, fearing the acquaintance would reveal details about where the pair had gone together.
Baird and Davies' murders are believed to be the first carried out by a New South Wales officer in decades. The case has sparked public outrage and, according to the BBC, spurred a review of the gun handling procedures that allowed Lamarre-Condon to sign his pistol out while off duty.
"We're in this position that a police firearm was used and that can never happen again," Commissioner Webb said during the press conference. "We have to look to ways to mitigate that risk in whatever way we can."