Former officer disguised himself as Uber Eats rider, prosecutor tells jury

The murder trial of Beau Lamarre-Condon, a 31-year-old former police officer, opened Monday at the New South Wales Supreme Court in Sydney, where prosecutors told the jury that he developed an “infatuation and obsession” with one of his victims before fatally shooting him and his partner.

Lamarre-Condon pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter at the King Street courthouse. Appearing in the dock in a light grey suit, dark tie and white shirt, he repeated his pleas on Monday; by the end of the day, the jury had been chosen. He had earlier offered to plead guilty to an alternative charge of manslaughter, but the offer was rejected by the prosecution.

The case has drawn significant public attention, with members of the public and media filling the entire courtroom on Monday morning. Loved ones of the victims, including their mothers and siblings, watched proceedings at the courthouse.

In his opening, crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield told the jury that Lamarre-Condon and Jesse Baird had become romantically involved from late 2022 and into 2023.

“[Lamarre-Condon] developed an infatuation and obsession with Jesse Baird which manifested itself in a range of compulsive behaviour,” Hatfield said.

The behaviour escalated after Baird ended all contact with Lamarre-Condon in November 2023, the court heard. According to the crown, Lamarre-Condon began planning the murder in early 2024, investigating ways to conceal the sound of gunfire, hiring a vehicle under his mother’s name and buying a surfboard bag to dispose of the body. He retained his police service weapon when he had “no need to be using it,” the prosecution said.

On February 19, 2024, Lamarre-Condon wore a motorcycle helmet and dressed as an Uber Eats rider to enter Baird’s Paddington home using a key he had previously obtained, the court heard. “He then proceeded to the kitchen, where he shot Jesse twice, he then proceeded back to the bedroom where he shot Luke Davies,” Hatfield told the jury.

Baird, 26, and Davies, 29, were killed with Lamarre-Condon’s police service weapon. Davies was Baird’s partner. Their bodies were found almost 200 kilometres away in Bungonia, eight days after the shooting. The prosecution said Lamarre-Condon had earlier unsuccessfully attempted to sink the bodies in a nearby dam.

The jury has been chosen and the trial is expected to continue for another two to three months.