Double murder-accused Beau Lamarre-Condon acted in 'self defence', court told - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Beau Lamarre-Condon had pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder, and one of aggravated break and enter. (Copyright: Liam Mendes)

Former Sydney police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon will argue he acted in self defence on the day he is accused of murdering Sydney couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies.

Mr Lamarre-Condon, 31, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one of aggravated break and enter.

His defence counsel urged jurors against rushing to reach any final conclusion until they have heard all of the evidence in the case.

Former Sydney police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon will argue he acted in self defence on the day he is accused of murdering Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, with his defence team telling a jury the couple were killed during two struggles involving a police pistol.

Mr Lamarre-Condon, 31, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one of aggravated break and enter, and is facing a three-month trial in the NSW Supreme Court.

The Crown has used an opening address to outline what it says was obsessive conduct towards Mr Baird and alleged stalking in the months leading up to February 2024, when the couple was allegedly shot dead in Mr Baird's Paddington terrace in Sydney's east.

Jurors have been told Mr Baird and the defendant had previously been romantically involved in 2022 and parts of the following year, but Mr Baird twice broke things off, including in mid-November 2023, and requested no further contact.

The Crown's case is that the then-senior constable disguised himself as an Uber Eats delivery driver, including with a helmet, when he entered the Brown Street property, shot Mr Baird twice in the kitchen, and then shot Mr Davies who was in a bedroom calling Triple Zero (000).

On Tuesday, Mr Lamarre-Condon's defence counsel John Stratton SC used his opening address to tell jurors the accused's case was that he did not murder either Mr Baird or Mr Davies, whose deaths he described as "a tragedy".

Mr Stratton said there would be no dispute his client was "very upset" by the second break-up and thought Mr Baird "had not been honest with him".

Luke Davies (left) and Jesse Baird, who were allegedly killed by Mr Lamarre-Condon. (Supplied: Instagram)

It was not disputed Mr Lamarre-Condon did some "stupid things" including looking through Mr Baird's phone, deleting contacts and deleting text messages, jurors were told.

And he admitted entering the Brown Street home on February 19, 2024, Mr Stratton said.

"His reason was that he wanted to recover some of his belongings including some jewellery … without having to go through the embarrassment of having a further meeting with Jesse Baird when he turned up at the door," he told the jury.

"He disguised himself … because he in fact was expecting there would be no-one home.

Mr Stratton said it was Mr Lamarre-Condon's case that he had the gun with him because he was a police officer whose training told him he could not leave it unattended in a car.

Once inside, Mr Lamarre-Condon was "surprised" by Mr Baird who "understandably did not recognise him because he was wearing a motorcycle helmet", Mr Stratton said.

Mr Stratton said the two men struggled and the gun went off twice, fatally wounding Mr Baird, before it was flung into another room.

Mr Lamarre-Condon's court case began on Monday. (Supplied: Rocco Fazzari)

He said Mr Lamarre-Condon picked up a mobile phone and started calling Triple Zero, before he encountered Mr Davies as he walked towards the front door, where there was another struggle and Mr Lamarre-Condon pushed the gun away from himself.

"In the struggle that followed, Mr Davies pulled the trigger and fatally shot himself," Mr Stratton said.

The Crown has outlined what it says were steps Mr Lamarre-Condon took to conceal the alleged murders, including cleaning the house and disposing of the pair's bodies by unsuccessfully attempting to sink them in a dam near Goulburn.

Mr Stratton said it would be submitted that the conduct after the events at Brown Street "were not the actions of a man who believed he was guilty of murder, but the actions of a man who panicked considerably, and knew the gravity of the situation he was in and how it might be perceived".

He urged jurors against rushing to reach any final conclusion until they have heard all of the evidence in the case.

The Sydney couple was allegedly murdered on February 19, 2024. (AAP: Bianca De Marchi)

Earlier today, the jurors were shown part of the CCTV footage from the neighbouring property to Mr Baird's home on the morning of the incident.

The video recorded sound, including the sound of three gunshots; the first at 9:49am, another gunshot four seconds later, and then another 51 seconds later, the Crown said.

Crown Prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC told the jurors during his opening address that a Triple Zero (000) call was made between the first two shots and the final shot.

He said the audio was "muffled", but the Crown suggests that a male voice said: "Get out, f*** off."

The court was told one "important piece of evidence" was discovered "belatedly" by police in July this year at the Paddington terrace: a bullet hole in a door that had previously been covered by a stick-on hook.

Mr Hatfield said Mr Lamarre-Condon made multiple trips to Bunnings stores to purchase items including a bucket, black vinyl gloves, a mop, double-sided tape, cleaning cloths, cable ties, bleach and garbage bags.

After returning to Paddington, Mr Lamarre-Condon later sent messages from Mr Baird's mobile phone pretending to be Mr Baird, Mr Hatfield said.

In one message, the Crown said Mr Lamarre-Condon told housemates Mr Baird had hired an AirTasker to collect possessions and gave them the impression he was going on a Perth road trip.

The Crown anticipated evidence of his movements including hiring a HiAce van to transport the bodies of Mr Baird and Mr Davies, which were at one point left in surf bags and tarpaulin in the courtyard of the property before Mr Lamarre-Condon returned to move them again.

Mr Hatfield said one of Mr Baird's housemates noticed two surfboard bags in the courtyard, and thought red staining on the ground near them was rust.

Police and divers found the bodies at a private property in Bungonia. (ABC News: Isobel Roe)

The Crown expects evidence from a witness, who will be known as Elizabeth Kennery in the proceedings, who was in the van when Mr Lamarre-Condon drove to a farm near Goulburn, but left her near a gate as he drove further into the property.

On the Crown's case, Mr Lamarre-Condon tried to sink the bodies of Mr Baird and Mr Davies in a dam by mixing quick-set concrete into the surfboard bags and using weights.

Mr Hatfield said the evidence is expected to show he returned to the farm alone.

The men's bodies were discovered at a different location, still in the surfboard bags, but on a fenceline near a monastery about 20 kilometres from the farm, jurors heard.

Mr Hatfield said on the way to handing himself in, on February 23, Mr Lamarre-Condon made a call to a police helpline to report a "workplace injury". In that call, he said he would not be attending work.

Mr Hatfield said Mr Lamarre-Condon requested the operator record that since joining the police force in 2018, he had been exposed to "multiple destruction, death and trauma" with minimal support, and that he had also been bullied.

Mr Hatfield quoted the defendant, in that call, as also saying: "All this, yeah, all this death and trauma and psychological abuse and trauma, did I say trauma already? Has caused me not to sleep … it's caused me to have some symptoms of schizophrenia."

He then requested the operator "delete that whole thing" and said "we'll just keep it short and sweet", Mr Hatfield said.

While in custody, he was asked whether he had any mental health issues and told the custody manager he was on tablets for depression, anxiety and schizophrenia, the prosecutor said, which was untrue.

The trial, before Justice Natalie Adams, continues.