Lamarre-Condon tells jury friend urged body disposal

A former police officer in a double murder trial has claimed he intended to report two fatal shootings but was told by a friend to hide the bodies instead. Beau Lamarre-Condon, 31, provided his first statement to the court on Tuesday regarding the deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies. The incident occurred on 19 February 2024 in Baird’s home in Paddington. Lamarre-Condon faces two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter. His legal team maintains the shooting was accidental and that he acted in self-defence.

The statement, read by prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC, directly contradicts testimony given by a friend identified in court as Elizabeth Kennedy. Lamarre-Condon alleges he picked up Kennedy two days after the shootings. He claimed he showed her the bodies in the back of a van and began to cry. He told the court he asked Kennedy if he should drive straight to the police. He alleges she replied, "No, no, you can’t. They won’t believe you. This is like Taylor Swift’s song, No Body, No Crime. We have to get rid of them straight away."

Lamarre-Condon stated he warned Kennedy she could be charged as an accessory to murder. He alleged she agreed to help because he would help her in the future. According to the statement, Kennedy played the song on her phone while they drove and laughed at the situation. He claims she assisted in carrying the bodies to a farm in Bungonia. They attempted to sink the bodies by pouring concrete into bags. Lamarre-Condon alleges Kennedy used his pocketknife to cut holes in a surfboard cover when the bag would not sink. He said this action caused knife wounds to Luke Davies’s leg.

Kennedy denied these claims during her testimony last week. She told the court she did not know about the bodies and did not help sink them. She stated she waited at a gate while Lamarre-Condon drove to a dam. Under questioning by barrister John Stratton SC, Kennedy said, "I didn’t know anything. I’m five foot and weigh 55 kilos so I don’t think I could carry a body even if I tried." She also denied that Lamarre-Condon told her Baird was dead. She asserted that Lamarre-Condon was the one who played the Swift song in the car.

Lamarre-Condon explained he did not inform police of Kennedy’s involvement because she begged him not to. He told the court he would have to tell the truth if the case went to trial because he could not lie under oath. He stated he wanted to do the right thing by the families of Baird and Davies so they could know the truth.

The court also heard details regarding Lamarre-Condon’s interaction with police before he surrendered. He handed himself in at 10.37am on 23 February 2024. Earlier that morning, he reported a psychological injury to a police assistance line. A recording of the call played for the jury shows Lamarre-Condon identifying himself to avoid shocking the operator. He described suffering from anxiety and symptoms of schizophrenia. He asked the operator to delete the record and keep the call short.

In the recording, Lamarre-Condon stated that exposure to trauma and bullying since joining the force had affected his mental capability. He told the operator that detectives were already aware he was being driven to a central police station. The trial is currently presided over by Justice Natalie Adams.