Grieving friends, family and community members will honour the lives of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies at a silent vigil in Sydney before tributes flow at the upcoming Mardi Gras parade.
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The bodies of Mr Davies, 29, and Mr Baird, 26, were found inside surfboard bags at the fence line of a rural property in Bungonia near Goulburn, about 200km southwest of the city, on Tuesday.
In a statement issued through Sydney independent MP Alex Greenwich's office, friends of Mr Davies said his smile lit up every room.
"We hope he will not be remembered for the tragic events of the last week and a half, but for his beautiful soul, adventurous spirit, and the joy he brought into all of our lives," the statement said.
Friends and colleagues of Mr Baird said he was "the life of every party".
"His life-loving attitude was infectious and he was pure joy to be around," they said.
"That's what we want to carry with us, how lucky we were to know and adore him."
NSW Police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon, 28, is in custody charged with murdering the couple at Mr Baird's home at Paddington in inner-city Sydney on February 19.
A Friday-night vigil, organised with the permission of the couple's families, will be held in nearby Darlinghurst.
The vigil is scheduled on the eve of the annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade, where organisers are expected to recognise the couple.
Mardi Gras board co-chair Brandon Bear said the LGBTQI celebration will be a more sombre event than usual for some people.
"Everyone brings what they are going to bring to Mardi Gras ... if you do come along to parade on Saturday, there will be a space for you, we will hold that space for you and you can be part of our community in that space," he said on Friday.
Detectives allege Lamarre-Condon's killing of Mr Baird with his police-issued gun was a premeditated attack after a months-long campaign of "predatory behaviour" towards the man he briefly dated.
Mr Davies, a Qantas flight attendant, was allegedly murdered because he happened to be in the Paddington property at the time of his partner's killing.
CCTV of Lamarre-Condon buying a surfboard bag in the days before the alleged double murder was aired on Nine News on Thursday night.
More footage captured two days later showed him returning for a similar bag.
Mr Greenwich said his office, along the parade's Oxford St route, had been overwhelmed with community distress.
"These tragic deaths remind us to redouble efforts to improve the safety and wellbeing of LGBTIQA-plus people in NSW," he said.
Qantas will honour Mr Davies on its Mardi Gras parade float, while the AFL is expected to announce a tribute for Mr Baird, who umpired 62 games including two finals, in coming weeks.
NSW police officers will march in the parade out of uniform after reaching a compromise with organisers, having previously been uninvited after Lamarre-Condon was charged.
Police Commissioner Karen Webb said she would not attend the planned vigil as she did not want to interfere with the grief of mourners.
She will attend the Mardi Gras parade on Saturday.
Australian Associated Press
