Former police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to the murders of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies. On Tuesday, the New South Wales Supreme Court released photos of the crime scene where the two men were allegedly shot.
As the trial continued into its second week, the jury was shown a series of photos of the Paddington property where the deaths allegedly occurred. They included photos of Jesse Baird’s bedroom, the house’s kitchen and its courtyard, each treated with luminol, a chemical used to reveal possible blood staining on surfaces.
Lamarre-Condon, now 31, is accused of shooting television presenter Jesse Baird and his partner, flight attendant Luke Davies, with his police-issued service weapon on 19 February 2024.
The prosecution alleges that the former police officer had previously been in a casual relationship with Baird and, after they broke up, began stalking him and breaking into his home. Prosecutors argue that in the months leading up to the alleged shootings, Lamarre-Condon planned to kill Baird, and that Davies was also killed when he was unexpectedly present at the Paddington property shared by Baird and his housemates.
The defence says Lamarre-Condon entered the property that morning to collect belongings he had left behind during the relationship. The court heard he allegedly disguised himself as an Uber Eats driver by wearing a motorcycle helmet in case any of Baird’s housemates answered the door, as he wanted to avoid an awkward confrontation.
The defence team argues that Lamarre-Condon surprised Baird in the kitchen and, because Baird did not recognise him due to the motorcycle helmet, a brief struggle occurred that resulted in Baird being shot twice. Defence counsel further alleges that Davies appeared armed with a knife and that, during a second confrontation, he picked up the discarded firearm and accidentally shot himself. The defence says Lamarre-Condon then panicked and decided to clean the scene and remove the bodies.
Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter.
In recent days, the court has heard how a worker at a Cronulla lawn bowls club discovered discarded items allegedly dumped in a skip bin. They included furniture, Davies’ Qantas staff card and items that led investigators to Baird’s Paddington address. The court was shown more than 100 photographs of items recovered from the skip bin, including a white T-shirt, sheets, AFL umpire flags and jewellery, some of which allegedly contained blood.
The court has also seen body-worn camera footage from detectives who visited the Paddington property two days after the alleged murders. They found a team of professional cleaners at the house, arranged by Baird’s housemates, who were under the impression he had moved out. Baird had been planning to leave the property within weeks and they believed he had already done so based on messages they had received.
Prosecutors allege those messages were sent by Lamarre-Condon using Baird’s phone after the alleged shootings. They further allege that he attempted to thoroughly clean the property and made several trips to Bunnings and Kmart to purchase cleaning and hardware supplies.
The court was shown footage and receipts relating to those purchases. Police investigators said blood from Baird’s bedroom had seeped through the floorboards and was found on joists underneath the house. DNA testing later identified blood belonging to both Baird and Davies. Luminol analysis suggested the possible presence of blood in several areas of the home, including the kitchen and lounge room, although the chemical can also react with some cleaning products.
Senior Sergeant Bronwyn Lansley, a specialist crime scene officer, told the court that Baird’s blood was found in the kitchen, underneath the kitchen, the lounge room and bedroom. She said Davies’ blood was found in the bedroom and on items recovered from it.
The court also heard evidence that a bullet hole in Baird’s bedroom door was not discovered until two months ago because it had allegedly been filled with putty and concealed behind a hook. Police investigators told the court they tested the alleged murder weapon on a similar door and produced comparable stippling marks, which they say suggests the muzzle of the firearm was pressed against the door when it was discharged.
The court also heard testimony from Georgia Cook, a former friend of Lamarre-Condon, who alleged that months before the deaths of Baird and Davies he had asked whether she would ever help him hide a body.
Cook told the court that in late 2023 Lamarre-Condon allegedly said that if he killed someone, he would dispose of their belongings in a dumpster and leave the body in bushland. She said she began to distance herself from the friendship after those comments. Cook also alleged that Lamarre-Condon admitted watching Baird from outside his home and knew where a spare key was kept.
Lamarre-Condon’s defence barrister argued that the comments were something the witness had “read in the media”.
The trial before Justice Natalie Adams is continuing and is expected to last three months.
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