Jesse Baird

Jesse Alan Baird (4 September 1997 – 19 February 2024) was an Australian television presenter and Australian rules footballgoal umpire.^[4] Baird worked as a presenter and reporter on various Network 10 programs, including Totally Wild, Gamify and Studio 10.^[5][6][7] He officiated 62 matches as an Australian Football League umpire, including two finals.^[8]

Baird was shot dead on the morning of 19 February 2024, alongside his partner. Former police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon was implicated in his killing. His remains were discovered on 27 February.^[9]

Baird was born in Melbourne,^[10] where he grew up in the north-eastern suburbs.^[11] He graduated from Loyola College in 2015,^[12] then achieved a Bachelor of Education degree from La Trobe University in 2019, majoring in drama and media.^[13] He moved to Brisbane in early 2017 to pursue a television career.^[14] He moved to Sydney in 2023 for further producing and umpiring work.^[8]

Baird worked as a presenter and reporter on various Network 10 programs. In early 2017, he joined the cast of children's television series Totally Wild, remaining as a presenter alongside Stacey Thomson, until the show's final episode on 27 June 2021.^[5][15] In 2019, Baird was announced as the host of Gamify, a game show which aired on 10 Peach.^[6][16] He was also a red carpet reporter on Studio 10, until the program was cancelled in December 2023.^[7]

Baird became an Australian rules footballgoal umpire in 2011 with the Northern Football Netball League, winning the NFNL's Most Improved Senior Umpire award and officiating the Division 1 Grand Final in 2015.^[17] Baird moved to Brisbane in 2017 where he joined the NEAFL, umpiring grand finals in 2018 and 2019. In 2019, he was named the NEAFL Goal Umpire of the Year.^[17][18] In 2020, he joined the Australian Football League (AFL) list. He made his AFL debut officiating a match between Gold Coast and Port Adelaide.^[17][18]

Baird won the Brian Pratt Medallion for most promising AFL umpire in 2020 and 2021.^[1] His fiftieth game came in round six of the 2023 season.^[18] He officiated 62 matches as an AFL umpire, including two finals.^[8]

Baird and his partner Luke Davies, aged 29, were last seen on the evening of 18 February 2024.^[19][20] Baird was scheduled to umpire an AFL pre-season practice match between Sydney and Greater Western Sydney on 20 February. However, he did not arrive.^[8]

On 21 February, bloodied clothes, a phone, credit cards, keys, and an $8,000 watch belonging to Davies were found in a skip in Cronulla.^[21][22] Police subsequently attended Baird's home in Paddington where they found upended furniture, a large quantity of blood, and a projectile and casing that allegedly matched a police firearm.^[23]

Police alleged Baird and Davies were killed on the morning of 19 February. Shouting and gunshots were heard from the residence, and a 000 emergency phone call was made on Davies' phone, in which the operator heard a man shouting "get out, get out" before the call was disconnected. A police car was dispatched but drove down the street without stopping at Baird's house.^[24]

On 23 February, New South Wales police officer Senior Constable Beaumont Lamarre-Condon, aged 28 and known as Beau Lamarre,^[25] handed himself in to Bondi Police Station and was charged with two counts of murder.^[26] Investigators allege Lamarre's crimes followed months of "predatory behaviour” towards Baird,^[27] with whom witnesses report Lamarre had falsely claimed to be in a relationship.^[28] Lamarre was remanded in custody to appear in court in late April.^[29] Lamarre purchased two surfboard bags, the same type in which the victims' bodies were later found; one on 17 February two days before the killings and one on the afternoon of 19 February.^[30] He rented a white Toyota HiAce van from Mascot at 9:30 pm on 19 February.^[21] It was seen in Lambton on 22 February before being abandoned in Grays Point.^[22] Police alleged that the van was used to transport the bodies of Baird and Davies.^[22][31]

On 27 February, Baird and Davies' bodies were found on a property in Bungonia, New South Wales, near Goulburn, following information from the accused.^[32][33]

In October 2025 Lamarre pleaded not guilty to the charge, with the trial set for September 2026.^[34] On 29 April 2026, Lamarre's mother Coleen was charged with an act to pervert the course of justice for allegedly attempting to influence a key witness to change their evidence.^[35]

• List of solved missing person cases (2020s)
• List of sports officials who died while active