A police colleague of Beau Lamarre-Condon has told the NSW Supreme Court that, in the weeks leading up to the deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, he allegedly asked questions about whether hire cars or mobile phones could be tracked.
Lamarre-Condon, 31, is facing trial accused of shooting Baird and his partner Davies with his police service weapon at Baird’s Paddington home on 19 February 2024. He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter.
Senior Constable Alex Scobie, who was friends with Lamarre-Condon, told the court that about three weeks before the alleged crime he said he wanted to ask her a “work-related” question.
After driving her home in a hire car, he asked questions about call and mobile internet records, including whether phones could be tracked when switched off and whether hire cars could be tracked. Giving evidence, Scobie said she considered it a “weird question”.
Later that evening, Lamarre-Condon allegedly called Scobie and told her not to worry about the questions he had asked. His employment as a police officer was terminated after he was charged with the alleged murders.
Prosecutors have alleged the former officer used a hire car, rented under his mother’s name, to travel to Baird’s Paddington share house before waiting outside for several hours.
The court heard prosecutors allege that after Baird’s housemates left, Lamarre-Condon dressed as an Uber Eats delivery driver, including wearing a motorcycle helmet, and entered the property.
They allege he shot Jesse Baird twice in the kitchen before fatally shooting Luke Davies through a bedroom door about a minute later.
The defence does not dispute that Lamarre-Condon was at the property in disguise or that he later cleaned the scene and removed the two men’s bodies.
The defence says he went to the house to retrieve personal property left behind after his relationship with Baird ended the previous year.
According to the defence, he wore the disguise to avoid an awkward interaction if any of Baird’s housemates answered the door.
They allege the deaths occurred after Baird failed to recognise him because he was wearing a motorcycle helmet and was accidentally shot during a brief struggle. The defence further alleges Davies approached armed with a knife and retrieved Lamarre-Condon’s discarded firearm, accidentally shooting himself during a subsequent struggle.
Earlier on Thursday, the court heard from Baird’s housemates, who described how their relationship had deteriorated and that Baird had agreed to move out of the property. He had been scheduled to leave the following day.
One housemate, known to the court by the pseudonym Belinda Smith, said she noticed two surfboard bags beneath a tarpaulin in the courtyard when checking on washing during a rainy February afternoon.
She photographed the bags after noticing a red liquid coming from them and sent the image to another housemate, known to the court as Sarah King.
Smith told the court she believed the liquid was “rusted water from the outdoor furniture”.
When prosecutor Brett Hadfield asked whether Baird had ever discussed surfing or whether she had ever seen a surfboard at the house, Smith said no.
On the morning of 20 February, Smith messaged King after noticing Baird’s belongings remained in the house.
“I’m genuinely scared this dude isn’t moving out today,” the message said.
The court heard Baird and Davies had been shot the previous day, and Smith had not realised their bodies were allegedly inside the surfboard bags she had seen.
Prosecutors allege Lamarre-Condon later sent messages from Baird’s phone to make it appear he was still alive.
Smith and King received a message in their house group chat, apparently from Baird, stating he had arranged for an Airtasker representative to collect his belongings and had decided to take a road trip to Perth with friends.
Smith responded that she was confused and asked that his room be emptied because professional cleaners had been booked for the following day. A reply from Baird’s phone asked what time the cleaners were scheduled to attend.
By 22 February, a number of items had been removed from Baird’s room and the surfboard bags had disappeared from the courtyard.
The bodies of Baird and Davies were found in the surfboard bags five days later, nearly 200 kilometres away, after Lamarre-Condon provided information to investigators that led to their discovery.
The trial before Justice Natalie Adams continues.
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