Jesse Alan Baird (4 September 1997 – 19 February 2024) was an Australian television presenter and Australian rules football goal umpire.^[5] Baird worked as a presenter and reporter on various Network 10 programs, including Totally Wild, Gamify and Studio 10.^[6][7][8] He officiated 62 matches as an Australian Football League umpire, including two finals.^[9]

Baird was born in Melbourne,^[2] where he grew up in the north-eastern suburbs.^[10] He graduated from Loyola College in 2015,^[11] then achieved a Bachelor of Education degree from La Trobe University in 2019, majoring in drama and media.^[12] He moved to Brisbane in early 2017 to pursue a television career.^[13] He moved to Sydney in 2023 for further producing and umpiring work.^[9]

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.^[6][14] In 2019, Baird was announced as the host of Gamify, a game show which aired on 10 Peach.^[7][15] He was also a red carpet reporter on Studio 10, until the program was cancelled in December 2023.^[8]

Baird became an Australian rules football goal 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.^[16] 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.^[16][17] In 2020, he joined the Australian Football League (AFL) list. He made his AFL debut officiating a match between Gold Coast and Port Adelaide.^[16][17]

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.^[17] He officiated 62 matches as an AFL umpire, including two finals.^[9]

^[18]==Disappearance and death== Baird and his partner Luke Davies, aged 29, were last seen on the evening of 18 February 2024.^[19] 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.^[9]

On 21 February, bloodied clothes, a phone, credit cards, keys, and an $8,000 watch belonging to Davies were found in a skip bin in Cronulla.^[20][21] 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.^[22]

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.^[23] 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.^[24] He rented a white Toyota HiAce van from Mascot at 9:30 pm on 19 February.^[20] It was seen in Lambton on 22 February before being abandoned in Grays Point.^[21] Police alleged that the van was used to transport the bodies of Baird and Davies.^[21][25]

On 23 February, New South Wales police officer Senior Constable Beaumont Lamarre-Condon, aged 28 and known as Beau Lamarre,^[26] handed himself in to Bondi Police Station and was charged with two counts of murder.^[27] Investigators allege Lamarre's crimes followed months of "predatory behaviour” towards Baird,^[28] with whom witnesses report Lamarre had falsely claimed to be in a relationship.^[29] Lamarre-Condon was remanded in custody to appear in court in late April.^[30]

On 27 February, Baird and Davies' bodies were found on a property in Bungonia, New South Wales, near Goulburn, following information from the accused.^[31][32]

• List of solved missing person cases