The jury hearing the case against former police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon has been shown footage of him buying a surfboard bag just days before the alleged murders of Sydney couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies.
Prosecutors allege Lamarre-Condon planned to murder his former partner, Baird, a television presenter and AFL umpire, and also decided to kill Davies because he could have been a witness to the first shooting. They argue that the purchase of the surfboard bag demonstrates significant planning before the deaths.
Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one count of aggravated break and enter. His NSW Supreme Court trial is in its first week and is expected to run for three months.
CCTV footage shown to the jury captured Lamarre-Condon and a friend at Westfield Miranda. Prosecutor Brett Hadfield told the jury the friend would later tell investigators that Lamarre-Condon held up the bag against the friend’s body to gauge its size. Hadfield said the friend would give evidence that Lamarre-Condon asked whether a body would fit inside the bag.
According to the prosecution, when the friend replied, “probably not”, Lamarre-Condon selected a larger bag and said, “I’ll grab this one instead, it should be big enough.” The friend is yet to testify.
Two days later Lamarre-Condon would allegedly shoot both Davies and Baird, and returned to the store to buy a second surf board bag. Prosecutors allege this was because he was not expecting Davies to be at the home, and now needed to dispose an unexpected second body.
The footage was one of several clips shown to jurors during proceedings. They also viewed footage that allegedly showed Lamarre-Condon arriving at and leaving Balmain Police Station on the day before the shootings, as well as footage of him driving his Tesla and making withdrawals from several ATMs.
Additional footage showed Baird and Davies at the Beresford Hotel in Surry Hills on the afternoon of 18 February 2024, the day before their deaths. Footage from 19 February allegedly showed Lamarre-Condon driving to Baird’s Paddington address in a vehicle hired in his mother’s name.
CCTV footage from neighbouring properties allegedly captured Lamarre-Condon approaching the home dressed as an Uber Eats driver, wearing a motorcycle helmet and carrying a paper delivery bag.
Investigating officer Detective Sasha Pinazza told the court that more than 14,000 hours of footage had been obtained and analysed from more than 200 locations. The footage covers the period between 16 and 23 February 2024.
Friend says Lamarre-Condon asked about obtaining a gun
The court also heard evidence from a childhood friend of Lamarre-Condon who alleged he contacted her on 23 November 2023 and requested that they switch to a FaceTime video call.
The witness, referred to in court as Alex Carrol, alleged Lamarre-Condon asked whether her former partner could obtain a firearm for him.
She told the court he mouthed the words while using a hand gesture to indicate a gun.
During cross-examination by defence barrister John Stratton SC, Carrol rejected a suggestion that Lamarre-Condon had simply been asking whether her former partner possessed a gun because he was concerned about her safety.
Prosecutors have argued that, following the end of their relationship the previous year, Lamarre-Condon began stalking Baird.
The Crown alleges he broke into Baird’s home on multiple occasions, used his position as a police officer to obtain footage from a venue where Baird had met another friend, and watched Baird have sex with other men by spying through a bedroom window.
The prosecution alleges this culminated in Lamarre-Condon entering the property on a February morning while disguised as an Uber Eats driver. The Crown alleges he shot Baird twice in the kitchen before shooting Davies through a bedroom door as Davies attempted to call Triple Zero (000).
Lamarre-Condon’s legal team does not dispute that he attended the property dressed as an Uber Eats driver and was present when both men died.
The defence says he went to the property to retrieve jewellery and other belongings he had left there and entered using a key Baird had previously given him.
In the defence opening address, counsel said Lamarre-Condon wore a disguise because he believed it would prevent an awkward interaction if Baird or one of his housemates answered the door.
The defence claims Baird was surprised by his arrival and did not recognise him because he was wearing a helmet.
The defence further alleges that Baird was shot by Lamarre-Condon’s police-issued firearm after a brief struggle, during which the weapon was thrown across the room.
It also claims that Davies entered after hearing the gunshots and approached Lamarre-Condon with a knife. The defence alleges Davies later obtained the firearm and accidentally shot himself during a second struggle.
The defence does not dispute that Lamarre-Condon later attempted to clean the scene and moved the bodies on several occasions. However, it argues his actions amounted to self-defence rather than murder.
Friends say Baird was “petrified” of Lamarre-Condon but moving on with new partner Davies
On Wednesday, Baird’s close friend Matthew Edwards gave evidence that Baird told him on 3 February he was preparing to move out of his Paddington share house and had said: “Once I move house, this will be the last piece of me that Beau knows.”
Edwards also told the court that during their final telephone conversation on 18 February, the day before the alleged murders, Baird said that he and Davies had become an official couple.
On Wednesday, Baird’s former long-term partner, Corey Dean Thorpe, gave evidence that in late 2023 Baird told him the defendant would post videos and photographs of Baird on Instagram to create the impression they were still in a relationship.
Thorpe said that although they were no longer romantically involved, he and Baird remained close friends and spoke regularly.
In his evidence, Thorpe said that during a telephone conversation in November 2023, Baird sounded “petrified” when discussing Lamarre-Condon’s behaviour and had expressed concerns about the police officer’s access to firearms.
Thorpe told the court that Baird was reluctant to report those concerns because he feared Lamarre-Condon might make accusations that could damage both his media career and his AFL umpiring career.
Thorpe also recounted that Baird had previously told him that, during their relationship, he woke to find Lamarre-Condon allegedly going through his mobile phone.
The trial before Justice Natalie Adams continues.
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