Beau Lamarre-Condon Claims Self-Defence As Jury Hears CCTV Audio Of Three Gunshots

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The defence for former NSW Police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon have argued he acted in self-defence when Jesse Baird and Luke Davies were fatally shot inside Baird’s Paddington home, a Sydney jury has been told.

Lamarre-Condon, 31, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one count of aggravated break and enter over the deaths of Baird, 26, and Davies, 29, on 19 February 2024. The families of both Baird and Davies were in the courtroom.

Opening the defence case in the NSW Supreme Court on Tuesday, barrister John Stratton SC said Lamarre-Condon had gone to Baird’s home to collect belongings and entered wearing a motorcycle helmet and clothing intended to make him look like an Uber Eats delivery rider.

Stratton told the jury Lamarre-Condon wore the disguise because he did not want to be recognised while retrieving his belongings, and that he entered using a key which Baird had previously given him.

The former officer was carrying his police-issued Glock pistol at the time. According to the defence, Lamarre-Condon believed his police training prevented him from leaving the firearm unattended inside a vehicle where it could be stolen.

The jury heard Baird did not recognise Lamarre-Condon beneath the helmet and confronted him, leading to a physical struggle.

The defence told the jury that Baird was shot during that struggle and the gun was then flung across the room. Davies allegedly picked it up before Lamarre-Condon grabbed his arm and tried to push the weapon away.

Stratton said Davies pulled the trigger during the ensuing struggle, shooting himself.

“It’s his case that what he did was self-defence,” Stratton told the court.

The barrister acknowledged Lamarre-Condon’s conduct after the deaths would form an important part of the Crown’s case, but said his client had panicked because he understood how the scene would appear.

“He was a police officer and he knew this looked bad,” Stratton said.

He described the alleged cover-up as the actions of a man who “panicked considerably”, understood the gravity of the situation and was overwhelmed by it.

Lamarre-Condon trial: Jury shown CCTV recording of gunshots

Earlier on Tuesday, jurors were shown part of the CCTV footage recorded at a neighbouring property on the morning Baird and Davies died.

While the camera did not capture what was happening inside Baird’s home, its audio recorded three gunshots.

The first shot was heard at about 9.49am, followed by a second several seconds later. A third gunshot was recorded 51 seconds after the first.

The footage also captured a muffled male voice. The Crown alleges the voice was Davies, and that he could be heard saying words including “get out” and “fuck off”. The jury was told the words were difficult to make out and may require the recording to be played several times.

Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC alleges Lamarre-Condon entered Baird’s home using a stolen key before shooting Baird twice – the second being “an execution-style shot” – and later shooting Davies through a bedroom door as he attempted to contact triple zero.

The prosecution says the killings were planned and followed an escalating “infatuation and obsession” with Baird after their brief relationship ended.

The Crown has alleged Lamarre-Condon began researching ways to muffle gunfire, hired a vehicle under his mother’s name and bought a surfboard bag before the deaths.

He also sent Baird a 1600-word text message, which claimed he had been daignosed with a cancerous tumour in his left shoulder, and explained that his erratic behaviour was due to taking “one of the strongest medications” to treat it.

After the shootings, Lamarre-Condon allegedly cleaned the house, even asking one friend for help, and also allegedly sent messages from Baird’s phone to create the impression he was still alive and travelling to Western Australia, and did other evasive tactics to “try make it look like they had just disappeared”.

Baird and Davies’ bodies were found beside a fence near a monastery at Bungonia, almost 200 kilometres south-west of Sydney, eight days after their deaths.

The trial is ongoing,