A Sydney jury has been shown surveillance footage that prosecutors say depicts former police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon returning to Jesse Baird’s home hours after Baird and Luke Davies were killed. Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty and says the shootings were accidental.
The footage, released by the New South Wales Supreme Court, is from February 19, 2024. One clip shows a person in dark clothing outside Baird’s Paddington home at about 11 p.m. Prosecutors say the figure is Lamarre-Condon. The court heard that Baird and Davies’ bodies were then in surfboard bags in the townhouse courtyard.
Prosecutors say the footage forms part of a sequence showing preparations for the killings. Lamarre-Condon allegedly hired a white van later used to move the bodies and bought a surfboard bag. At 2:08 p.m., he allegedly spent A$146.40 in cash at a Bunnings store in Alexandria on a bucket mop wringer, disposable gloves, cloths, bleach and garbage bags. The store’s footage was no longer available, but a receipt was tendered in evidence.
The jury heard a statement from a friend of the accused, identified in court as Elizabeth Kennedy. She told police she drove with Lamarre-Condon to Goulburn in a van on February 21. Kennedy said she bought an angle grinder at Bunnings and he cut a padlock from a nearby farm gate. Her information led to a days-long search. Prosecutors allege Lamarre-Condon tried to sink the bodies in a dam at a rural property. They were found near a Greek monastery on February 27.
The prosecution says Lamarre-Condon planned to kill Baird after Baird ended their casual relationship in November 2023. It alleges jealousy was the motive and that Davies was killed to eliminate a witness. Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to two murder counts.
The defence does not dispute that he was at Baird’s home when the men suffered fatal gunshot wounds or that he disposed of their bodies. But it says the deaths were accidental and that Lamarre-Condon acted in self-defence. According to the defence, he went to collect belongings and did not expect anyone to be there. A struggle followed, during which his service pistol allegedly fired twice and killed Baird. Davies, the defence says, accidentally shot himself during a second struggle.
The court also heard that Lamarre-Condon bought a surfboard bag for A$85 two days before the alleged killings. Prosecutors say he later bought two more after finding that the first bags were too small. They foreshadowed testimony that he asked a friend whether the friend would fit inside a bag. The friend is not accused of wrongdoing.
The court was told that some timestamps on the CCTV compilation were inaccurate. Prosecutor Brett Hatfield said Lamarre-Condon returned to the house at about 11 p.m., rather than 10 p.m. shown on screen. The trial is ongoing, and the prosecution’s allegations have not been established as findings of guilt.