Ex-cop accused of double murder endures five-day Supreme Court grilling

Beau Lamarre-Condon's five days under cross-examination have been riddled with fiery clashes, confessions of gaslighting, and repeated denials that his "obsession" with Jesse Baird drove him to carry out the alleged murders of the TV presenter and his partner, Luke Davies.

The former police officer has been fighting two counts of murder in the NSW Supreme Court after being accused of shooting Mr Baird and Mr Davies inside a Sydney share home on February 19, 2024.

Mr Lamarre-Condon is accused of breaking into the Paddington terrace disguised as an Uber Eats delivery rider before shooting Mr Baird twice, and Mr Davies once through a door, with his police service pistol.

The 31-year-old maintains both men died during separate struggles.

After choosing to enter the witness box, Mr Lamarre-Condon spent an entire week being questioned about his ploys to ward off romantic rivals, accusations of stalking, and what the prosecution alleged was planned "murder, plain and simple".

Denies acting in 'self-preservation'

On Friday, Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC challenged Mr Lamarre-Condon's story that he acted in self-defence during two separate scuffles, which resulted in the men's deaths.

The accused told the jury that he attended the Paddington address to retrieve some of his belongings and that Mr Baird lunged at him with a knife when he did not recognise Mr Lamarre-Condon under the motorcycle helmet.

"What you did was totally inconsistent with self-defence and an accident wasn't it?" Mr Hatfield suggested.

"I disagree," the accused responded.

"It was murder, plain and simple. You murdered Jesse Baird didn't you?" Mr Hatfield said.

"I did not," Mr Lamarre-Condon replied.

"And then you murdered Luke Davies, shooting him through the door to eliminate him as a witness, didn't you?" Mr Hatfield said.

"I did not," the defendant said.

Mr Lamarre-Condon denied he acted "purely in self-preservation" when he cleaned the house, sent messages from Mr Baird's phone after the alleged murders, and took "extreme" steps to dispose of the bodies.

Lies and gaslighting

Earlier in the week, Mr Hatfield accused Mr Lamarre Condon of being "so desperate" to get Mr Baird back that he was "prepared to say or do almost anything" after the pair had a brief casual relationship in 2023.

The trial heard Mr Lamarre-Condon posted a close friends Instagram story on November 9, 2023, which he only made available for one person to view, in order to "ward off" off a man he believed was a romantic rival.

The post included a picture of a white floral bouquet with the caption: "When he's in Melbourne but still sends you these", which the accused partly accepted was intended to deceive the man about his "true relationship" with Mr Baird at the time.

Mr Lamarre-Condon conceded that when confronted about the post by Mr Baird he lied and "gaslit" him. He also conceded that he falsely denied blocking the man on Mr Baird's phone days later.

He denied the suggestion that several days later he tracked down Mr Baird in Sydney's east and saw him holding hands with that same man, arguing that he only travelled to Paddington to apologise and give his ex-partner flowers.

'Smitten, yes, obsessed, no'

Mr Lamarre-Condon also denied multiple other stalking accusations in 2023, including one instance when he saw Mr Baird having sex with another man through his window, which he claimed was by accident and later laughed off.

The Crown alleges after the pair had first broken up in April Mr Lamarre-Condon broke into Mr Baird's house and turned on his location on Snapchat maps to allow him to trace his whereabouts and "manufacture" interactions with him.

When asked if Mr Lamarre-Condon was obsessed with Mr Baird, the accused replied "smitten, yes, obsessed, no".

"Your problem is he didn't like you anywhere near as much as you liked him," Mr Hatfield said.

"That is not the case," Mr Lamarre-Condon replied.

"Your unrequited love turned into obsession," Mr Hatfield suggested.

"That is not the case," he replied.

'Won't be tricked'

Mr Lamarre-Condon's cross-examination produced several fiery clashes, with the 31-year-old accusing the prosecution of trying to "mislead" him, and telling the jury he "won't be tricked".

On Friday, Mr Lamarre-Condon shot back at suggestions that he purposely got his mother to hire a car under her name and drove it on the day of the alleged murders.

"You wouldn't bring a plan linked to your mum for a murder," the accused said, telling the court he would instead opt for a stolen vehicle.

"No-one's saying that's a good plan," Mr Hatfield said.

"That's why we're sitting here."

Mr Lamarre-Condon's defence barrister will have the opportunity to re-examine his client on Monday.