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Beau Lamarre-Condon Admits Accessing Jesse Baird’s Private Messages

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Beau Lamarre-Condon, the former police officer standing trial for the murder of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, admitted in court on Thursday to secretly accessing Mr. Baird’s mobile phone and monitoring his private messages. The 31-year-old, who has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder, began providing testimony in the New South Wales Supreme Court as his defence team opened its case.

Testimony on Relationship and Surveillance

Mr. Lamarre-Condon told the jury that his relationship with Mr. Baird began in October 2022 after they met at an Oxford Street nightclub, initially as friends with a sexual relationship before transitioning into romantic dates by December that year. During his testimony, he addressed a 2023 incident where he broke into Mr. Baird’s Paddington home. He admitted to using a bobby pin to manipulate the lock, claiming he wanted to check if Mr. Baird was seeing other men. He also admitted to pouring water into the fuel tank of Mr. Baird’s car after observing scratches on his own vehicle, telling the court he knew tit-for-tat isn’t right.

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Photo: SMH.com.au

The accused denied allegations that he had been spying on the television presenter like a little creep after being asked about an occasion where he observed Mr. Baird through a bedroom window. He testified that he had simply arrived to collect his belongings, saw Mr. Baird with another person, and left immediately. He stated, I did not stay and watch like a little creep, adding that he did not photograph the encounter and had actually laughed about it with friends because they were no longer together. Regarding an incident involving an Instagram post of flowers, Mr. Lamarre-Condon admitted he had faked the image to see if others would message him, but he told the court he completely owned up to it 10 hours later.

Workplace Trauma and Allegations of Bullying

The court heard extensive testimony regarding the accused’s mental health and experiences within the police force. Mr. Lamarre-Condon described witnessing multiple traumatic deaths during his service, including a man killed by a shotgun and a fatal incident involving an Uber Eats driver. He also recounted instances of alleged homophobic bullying from superiors, claiming one officer suggested police should be able to push gays off cliffs like in the old days. He told the court he could recall 12 to 15 incidents of workplace bullying graphically.

His defence counsel, John Stratton, SC, has previously argued that the deaths of Mr. Baird and Mr. Davies in February 2024 were the result of accidental shootings during struggles, and that his client acted in self-defence before panicking and disposing of the bodies. Prosecutors, however, allege that Mr. Lamarre-Condon killed Mr. Baird in an execution-style shooting driven by jealous obsession, subsequently killing Mr. Davies to eliminate a witness. The bodies of the two men, both in their 20s, were later recovered from surfboard bags at a rural monastery.

Jury Reviews Messages Sent After Deaths Occur

Earlier in the trial, the jury reviewed digital evidence, including messages sent by Mr. Lamarre-Condon shortly after the deaths occurred. Hours after the alleged murders on February 19, 2024, he messaged a new date to say he was not in a positive headspace and had been MIA. Other evidence included a resignation text sent from Mr. Baird’s phone to his new boss at Breakout Productions, which the prosecution alleges was sent by Mr. Lamarre-Condon to create a false narrative that the presenter had left his job. Company co-owner Lana Thrupp had hired Mr. Baird to film a shark documentary, but she became concerned when he failed to answer emails.

Beau Lamarre-Condon Admits Accessing Jesse Baird's Private Messages
Photo: The Guardian

The trial, now in its seventh week, is expected to continue with further testimony from the accused. Support services mentioned during the proceedings include the NSW Domestic Violence Line for those affected by family and domestic violence.

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