Sydney court hears of bloodstained items found — The Guardian

In Sydney, Australia, a court heard a statement about bloodstained items found in a garbage bin two days after the alleged murder of football referee Jesse Baird and flight attendant Luke Davies. As The Guardian reports, the items found included new Australian Football League shorts in their packaging, a Qantas card and other objects bearing traces of blood.

Club employee's statement

A statement by Cronulla Bowls Club groundskeeper Craig Scott was read out in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. According to him, on February 21, 2024, he and a colleague arrived at work and noticed that the bin lid had been propped open with rubbish.

Scott said he saw several black plastic bags that had not been there the previous day. In one of them, he found a brown item of clothing with red stains that, he said, looked like dried blood. The workers also found a silver watch, a leather case, a Qantas identification card, wooden drawers, shoes and clothing.

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Positions of the parties

Beau Lamarre-Condon, 31, is accused of fatally shooting Baird and Davies with his police service weapon at Baird's home in the Paddington area on February 19, 2024. He pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and a charge of aggravated break and enter.

The prosecution alleges that after the shooting, Lamarre-Condon began cleaning the crime scene and then threw the items into a bin near the club. According to the prosecution, on February 20, he had dinner with a friend in Cronulla, spoke about needing to find a garbage bin, and the friend showed him such a bin on the way home.

Defence lawyer John Stratton told jurors that the fatal shots fired at Baird and Davies were in self-defence after altercations with the police officer. According to the defence, Lamarre-Condon began cleaning the crime scene because he panicked. The trial, presided over by Justice Natalie Adams, is continuing.