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A Sydney man allegedly murdered by former police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon was “petrified” of the accused and kept repeating that “he has a gun”, a court has heard.
Lamarre-Condon, 31, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder over the shooting deaths of Jesse Baird, 26, his former casual romantic partner, and Luke Davies, 29, in Paddington on February 19, 2024. His NSW Supreme Court criminal trial started in Sydney on Monday.
Baird’s former long-term boyfriend, Corey-Dean Thorpe, testified on Thursday that Baird was “petrified” of the accused in the months before his death.
“I’d never heard him so scared in his voice before,” Thorpe said through tears. “And he just kept repeating: ‘He has a gun.’”
Thorpe agreed Baird had told him the accused would take videos and photos of him and post them on Instagram to give the impression they were in a relationship while hiding the posts from Baird.
Baird told him he was scared to go to the police because Lamarre-Condon was a police officer, he said.
Thorpe agreed Baird had also told him Lamarre-Condon had driven past a cafe when he was having a coffee with another man and texted him: “I hope you’re enjoying that coffee with that guy.”
‘Obsessive and jealous infatuation’
The prosecution case is that Lamarre-Condon killed Baird after developing an “an obsessive and jealous infatuation” with him after their casual relationship, which started in late 2022, was ended by Baird in November 2023.
The alleged murder was premeditated and followed a series of preparatory steps and escalating obsessive conduct, the Crown alleges. It alleges Lamarre-Condon spontaneously killed Davies, Baird’s new boyfriend, to eliminate a witness to his crime.
The defence case is that Lamarre-Condon acted in self-defence after entering Baird’s Paddington home disguised as an Uber Eats rider, including a motorcycle helmet and high-visibility top, to retrieve some of his belongings.
He had his police gun with him, the defence says, because “his training was that he was not allowed to leave a gun unminded in a car where it might be stolen”. The Crown case is that he was not rostered to work and should not have had his weapon with him.
The defence says Lamarre-Condon was “surprised by” Baird inside the home and a struggle ensued because, “understandably, [Baird] did not recognise him because he was still wearing the motorcycle helmet”. His gun went off twice in the struggle and fatally wounded Baird, the defence says.
Davies died in a later struggle after he grabbed the weapon and accidentally shot himself, the defence claims. Lamarre-Condon had grabbed Davies by the arm and pushed the gun away from himself and towards Davies, according to the defence.
The alleged break-in
In a statement to police on August 17, 2023, Baird told police he woke up at about 11.47pm “because I sensed that somebody had entered my room”.
He saw “a male standing over my bed” who “appeared to have my phone in his hand”, he said in the statement. Baird said he chased the man, clad in black clothing including a puffer jacket, but lost sight of him in the street.
When he returned home he noticed his phone and wallet had been taken, he said. Baird had broken up with Lamarre-Condon in April, the court has heard, and they reunited only briefly late that year before Baird permanently ended the relationship in November.
A police officer who investigated the alleged break-in told the court he found a bobby pin in the lock of the front door of the home.
Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to aggravated break and enter over the alleged incident. His defence barrister, John Stratton, SC, said in his opening address to the court on Tuesday that the accused entered the home using a key that Baird had given him.
‘The real deal’
On Wednesday, Matthew Edwards, a close friend of Jesse Baird, said Baird had described the accused to him as “a friend and nothing more”.
The court has heard Baird was on the cusp of moving out of his Paddington share house at the time of his death.
Edwards said that Baird told him on February 3, weeks before he died, that “once I move house this will be the last piece of me that Beau knows”. He agreed Baird had told him that in the past, he would wake up and find Lamarre-Condon going through his phone.
In their last phone call on February 18, the day before Baird died, Edwards said Baird told him that he and Luke Davies were a confirmed couple. Edwards gave emotional evidence that he had “never seen Jesse as happy” as when he was with Davies, and he “just lit Jesse up”.
“They were the real deal,” Edwards said, with tears in his eyes.
The trial continues.
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