Police officer tells friend in prison he caused involvement in double murder case

A secret recording of a prison meeting revealed that Beau Lamarre-Condon told a friend he took full responsibility for the other man becoming involved in a double murder trial. The New South Wales Supreme Court heard the audio on Monday, providing new evidence in the case against the 31-year-old former police officer. Lamarre-Condon faces charges of murdering Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, who were killed in February 2024.

The conversation took place in December of last year. Lamarre-Condon’s friend, whose name is protected by a suppression order, recorded the visit at the request of police. The friend testified that Lamarre-Condon admitted to killing the two men. He described the event to his friend as an out-of-body experience before trying to dismiss the admission as a joke.

During the recorded visit, Lamarre-Condon asked his friend to turn around to show he was not wearing a listening device. The friend replied that Lamarre-Condon was being paranoid. When the friend expressed frustration about the difficult situation, Lamarre-Condon apologized. He stated in the recording that he fully took accountability for the friend’s involvement in the legal proceedings.

The two men also argued about the details of Lamarre-Condon’s statement to police. Lamarre-Condon accused his friend of lying about certain details. Specifically, he claimed his friend wrongly recalled a statement that he killed Davies to eliminate a witness. Lamarre-Condon insisted in the recording that he acted in self-defense during the confrontation.

Lamarre-Condon contested the charge of aggravated break and enter. He told his friend that Baird had cut a key for him, meaning his entry into the Paddington home was not a forced break-in. He admitted it was trespassing but argued that returning to a former partner’s home to collect belongings was normal. He said he did not knock on the door because he feared being slapped with an apprehended violence order, though he did call out hello when entering.

The accused argued that the crime was not planned. In the recording, he said if he had planned the act, he would have been cool, calm, and collected. He claimed he would have had cleaning supplies ready and would not have used his police service weapon. He noted that he could have purchased another gun for $10,000 if he wanted to hide the evidence.

Lamarre-Condon told his friend that he had visited Royal National Park before the murders to test how loud his gunshots were. He said he planned to return to that location to take his own life. He described suffering from suicidality caused by trauma at work. The friend heard on the recording said he was unsure if Lamarre-Condon was telling the truth and threatened to leave the visit multiple times.

Lamarre-Condon shot Baird and Davies with his police weapon in their Paddington home on 19 February 2024. He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter. The trial is being heard by Justice Natalie Adams and continues.

The court heard that the friend recorded the conversation on behalf of police. The audio played to the jury included Lamarre-Condon’s apologies and his explanations for his actions. The friend testified on Friday that Lamarre-Condon had confessed to the killings during a previous interaction. The recording provided on Monday offered a more detailed account of the accused’s state of mind and his justification for the entry into the home.