A friend of Beau Lamarre-Condon, whose identity is protected, testified on Friday before the Supreme Court of New South Wales about conversations in which the 31-year-old allegedly confessed to the murders of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies. Lamarre-Condon is charged with two murders and one aggravated break-in, and has pleaded not guilty. The trial is presided over by Judge Natalie Adams.
According to the testimony, Lamarre-Condon told his friend "I did something" and "I killed people". The friend replied "you're joking?", to which the accused responded "I wish I was joking". He described having an out-of-body feeling and that it was not him, and that he committed the act with a gun. He mimed a gun with his fingers, saying "pew pew", and then stated: "I shot the first one in the head, and the second one through the door." He added that the second person did not need to be shot, but that he could not leave witnesses.
Lamarre-Condon asked his friend to quit his job and help "clean up the mess", stating that the bodies were heavy and that new doors needed to be bought. The friend relayed the situation to his team leader, who told him to tell Lamarre-Condon he had a meeting he could not miss. Later, Lamarre-Condon texted him "I need to get an Oscar, huh?", and said on a video call "I fed you". The friend retorted "it's not a fing joke, you're messing with my head", and the police officer replied: "OK, it's real, but I didn't want you to tell anyone."
The day after the alleged murders, on 20 February 2024, the two went to dinner. Lamarre-Condon said he needed to "throw away the bloody clothes and stuff", and gestured that his legs were sore, saying: "I didn't realise the bodies would be heavy." Just before he surrendered to the police, the friend contacted a lawyer who tried to connect him with NSW Police. The police asked: "Is it worth our time coming? It's really busy", and the lawyer replied: "You would want this information."
The friend also revealed that in late 2023, he had travelled abroad with Lamarre-Condon, who told him there: "I need to find a place... to buy a silencer." He explained that he was going hunting on his friend's farm. The two found what they thought was a gun shop, but it was closed or it was a fake ad. In Sydney, Lamarre-Condon drove his friend to a national park and took a police service weapon out of a paper bag. He gave him a police radio and asked him to listen to reports of police movements towards them after he fired the weapon. The friend said: "You can't really shoot from your police gun." Lamarre-Condon replied that they were practice rounds he had previously taken from a police shooting range held once a year.
He fired the weapon and asked his friend how loud it was, and then shot into the bushes again, asking "does it make a difference in the sound?". He asked if it would be heard louder or if it would be heard in the house, and the friend said: "It would be heard anywhere, it was super loud." On the way home, Lamarre-Condon allegedly said "you must not tell anyone about this".
The murders occurred at Baird's home in Paddington on 19 February 2024, and Baird and Davies were killed by gunfire from a police service pistol. The defence argues that Baird and Davies were accidentally shot while the accused was acting in "self-defence". Defence lawyer John Stratton SC said that Lamarre-Condon then "panicked significantly", cleaned the crime scene and removed the bodies. The trial before Judge Natalie Adams continues.
