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Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield told jurors in the New South Wales Supreme Court on Monday that Beau Lamarre-Condon developed an infatuation and obsession with Jesse Baird that escalated into compulsive behaviours including stalking and property damage after the pair ended their relationship in late 2023. Lamarre-Condon, a 31-year-old former senior constable, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter. He offered to plead guilty to the manslaughter of Baird but prosecutors rejected the proposal, according to AAP News. The case has drawn intense public interest as it involves a former officer using his service weapon in the alleged crimes.
According to Hatfield’s address, Lamarre-Condon began planning Baird’s murder in early 2024 by researching ways to silence gunfire, purchasing a surfboard bag to conceal bodies and retaining his police pistol despite having no operational need for it. The Guardian reported that this planning included hiring a vehicle under his mother’s name. Families of the victims, including Gary Baird and Sandra Davies, attended the opening of proceedings that are expected to run for up to 12 weeks with more than 100 witnesses. Fifteen jurors were empanelled on the first day.
The prosecutor outlined how Lamarre-Condon allegedly disguised himself as an Uber Eats delivery rider wearing a motorcycle helmet on February 19 2024 before entering Baird’s Paddington home with a key he had surreptitiously obtained. He is accused of shooting Baird twice in the kitchen and then moving to a bedroom where he fatally shot Davies, The Nightly reported. Neighbours heard gunshots around 9:50am but did not report them immediately, while an emergency call from Davies’ phone was disconnected before it could be answered.
In the days that followed, Lamarre-Condon allegedly transported the bodies more than 200 kilometres southwest to a rural property near Bungonia where he attempted to sink them in a dam before hiding them in surfboard bags, multiple outlets including the Sydney Morning Herald detailed. Police launched a major search after discovering bloodied belongings in a Cronulla bin and later found significant blood evidence at the Paddington residence along with a bullet casing linked to his service weapon. The former officer handed himself in at Bondi police station on February 23 2024 and was charged that day.
ABC News timelines from the initial investigation showed that Baird, a 26-year-old former television presenter, and Davies, a 29-year-old Qantas flight attendant, had been reported missing after failing to show up for work following a night out with friends. Lamarre-Condon was sacked from New South Wales Police in the weeks after his arrest. The trial also encompasses an earlier incident in which he allegedly broke into Baird’s home in August 2023 and stole a mobile phone and wallet.
Justice Natalie Adams is presiding over the matter at the King Street courthouse and has indicated she aims to complete the trial by Christmas if possible. The BBC noted that the bodies were located eight days after the alleged killings following an extensive search that gripped Sydney. Opening statements continued into the afternoon after jury selection with the defence yet to outline its case in detail. Witnesses are expected to include dozens of police officers as well as friends and family of those involved.
