A covertly recorded prison conversation has provided the New South Wales Supreme Court with a chilling insight into the mindset of Beau Lamarre-Condon, the former police officer accused of murdering Jesse Baird and Luke Davies.
Lamarre-Condon, 31, is currently standing trial for the February 2024 deaths of the couple at Baird’s Paddington home. He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter.
On Monday, jurors heard an audio recording of a December prison visit between Lamarre-Condon and a friend, whose identity has been suppressed. The recording was captured by the friend on behalf of police investigators. Early in the exchange, a paranoid Lamarre-Condon demanded that his visitor turn around to prove he was not wearing a wire, before the friend attempted to de-escalate the situation.
During the tense meeting, the friend confronted Lamarre-Condon about the predicament he had been placed in due to the accused’s actions. “You put me in a scenario that’s very difficult for me,” the witness said.
Lamarre-Condon responded with a stark admission: “I fully take accountability that you’re involved because of me now.”
The trial had previously heard allegations that Lamarre-Condon confessed to killing the men shortly after the incident, initially describing the act as an “out-of-body experience” before attempting to pass the claim off as a joke. However, the prison recording revealed a shift in the accused’s narrative. Lamarre-Condon accused his friend of misrepresenting his earlier comments to police, specifically denying he had claimed to kill Davies to eliminate him as a witness. Instead, he insisted he had acted in self-defence.
“Don’t you dare switch up,” the friend retorted during the recording.
Lamarre-Condon further disputed the charge of aggravated break and enter, arguing he had been given a key to Baird’s home previously. While he conceded he was trespassing, he claimed it was standard practice to return to a former partner’s home to retrieve belongings. He justified his decision not to knock—to avoid an apprehended violence order—but insisted he had announced his presence upon entering.
Attempting to argue against the premeditated nature of the crime, Lamarre-Condon claimed that if he had planned the killings, he would have been “cool, calm, collected.” He asserted that he would have had “cleaning ready to go” and would have avoided using his service weapon, boasting, “I can get [another gun] for $10,000.”
He also claimed that a prior visit to the Royal National Park with the friend was to test the volume of his service weapon, citing his own battle with suicidality and workplace trauma. Throughout the recording, the witness expressed deep skepticism, repeatedly telling the accused, “What you’re telling me mightn’t be the truth.”
The trial before Justice Natalie Adams continues.
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