Beau Lamarre-Condon trial live updates: Alleged double murderer, former NSW Police officer gives evidence
by Michaela Whitbourn · WAtodayPinned post from 9.47am
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Lamarre-Condon in the witness box
By Michaela Whitbourn
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of former NSW police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon’s double murder trial in the Supreme Court in Sydney.
Today marks the beginning of the defence case after more than six weeks of evidence from the Crown.
The accused killer and former NSW police officer will give evidence about what he says happened on the day Sydney couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies died of gunshot wounds from his police-issued Glock pistol.
Lamarre-Condon, 31, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder over the deaths of Baird, 26, a former TV presenter, and Davies, 29, a Qantas flight attendant, in Paddington on February 19, 2024. His case is that he acted in self-defence, the 15-person jury has been told.
He has also pleaded not guilty to an aggravated charge of breaking into Baird’s home six months earlier on August 17, 2023, and stealing his mobile phone and wallet.
The Crown alleges Lamarre-Condon developed an obsessive and jealous infatuation with Baird that escalated when Baird ended their casual romantic relationship in November 2023.
The prosecution case is that he planned to kill Baird and took a number of preparatory steps, including practising shooting his police weapon in a national park to experiment with the sound of gunshots and buying a surfboard bag to dispose of his body. The Crown alleges the accused killed Davies spontaneously to eliminate a witness to the crime.
The defence case is that Lamarre-Condon went to Baird’s home disguised as an Uber Eats delivery rider to collect some of his belongings and that his gun went off twice during a struggle with Baird, wounding him fatally, and that Davies shot himself during a second struggle.
There is no dispute that Lamarre-Condon cleaned Baird’s share house while his housemates were out and disposed of the men’s bodies.
Baird had been due to move out of the home that week, the court has heard. The Crown alleges he sent messages from Baird’s phone to the housemates’ group chat to give the impression he was still alive and in the process of packing.
As to the charge of aggravated break and enter, the defence says Lamarre-Condon used a key Baird had given him to enter his home at night.
Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield, SC, said in his opening address to the jury in September that Lamarre-Condon had “indicated that he pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter of Jesse Baird”.
“He’s entitled to enter a plea in those terms, but it’s not accepted by the Crown,” Hatfield said.