SYDNEY — A jury has been told that Beau Lamarre-Condon, a 31-year-old former police officer, disguised himself as an Uber Eats rider before entering the Paddington home of Jesse Baird and fatally shooting him and his partner, Luke Davies. Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter as his trial opened at the NSW Supreme Court on Monday.
Prosecutors allege that Lamarre-Condon used his police service weapon in the killings and had prepared for the attack weeks earlier. He appeared in the dock at the King Street courthouse wearing a light grey suit, white shirt and dark tie, and formally repeated his pleas before the selected jury.
A relationship that became an alleged fixation
Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield told the jury panel that Baird and Lamarre-Condon had been romantically involved from late 2022 into 2023. Their relationship ended when Baird cut off all contact in November 2023, after which the alleged conduct attributed to Lamarre-Condon intensified.
“[Lamarre-Condon] developed an infatuation and obsession with Jesse Baird which manifested itself in a range of compulsive behaviour,” Hatfield said.
The prosecution contends that this fixation evolved into a plan to kill Baird in early 2024. The court also heard that Lamarre-Condon offered to plead guilty to manslaughter as an alternative charge, but prosecutors declined the offer and proceeded with the murder allegations.
Prosecution outlines alleged preparations
According to the crown, Lamarre-Condon began researching ways to conceal the sound of gunfire before the planned attack. He also hired a vehicle under his mother’s name and purchased a surfboard bag that prosecutors say was intended to help dispose of Baird’s body.
Investigators allege that he retained his police service weapon despite having “no need to be using it”. The crown will seek to establish that these steps formed part of a coordinated plan rather than a spontaneous confrontation. Taken together, prosecutors argue, they point to preparation, disguise and an intention to kill. Lamarre-Condon denies the charges.
Entry under false colours and the fatal shots
On 19 February 2024, Lamarre-Condon allegedly arrived at Baird’s Paddington home wearing a motorcycle helmet and dressed as an Uber Eats rider. Prosecutors say he gained entry with a key he had previously obtained, then moved through the house before opening fire.
“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 court.
Baird was 26. Davies was 29. The prosecution alleges that both men were shot with the weapon issued to Lamarre-Condon during his police service.
Their bodies were discovered eight days later in Bungonia, almost 200 kilometres from Paddington. The crown said Lamarre-Condon had earlier made an unsuccessful attempt to sink the bodies in a nearby dam.
Families fill the courtroom as trial begins
The case has drawn intense public and media attention in New South Wales. On Monday morning, relatives of Baird and Davies, including their mothers and siblings, were present at the courthouse as proceedings began.
The jury has now been selected. The trial is expected to run for a further two to three months.
Why it Matters
Beyond the immediate allegations of a meticulously planned double killing, the trial raises profound questions about intimate abuse, access to police-issued weapons and the safeguards surrounding former officers. It also concerns the terrifying ease with which a familiar domestic setting can be entered under false pretences. For the families of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, the proceedings represent a long-delayed public examination of two lives violently cut short; for NSW policing, they place institutional accountability under an unforgiving spotlight.