Murder trial: Ex-police officer says friend urged him to hide bodies

Beau Lamarre-Condon told a jury he wanted to report the deaths of two men to the police, but a friend told him to dispose of their bodies first.

The 31-year-old former police officer is on trial for the double murder of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, who were shot in Baird's home in Paddington on 19 February 2024. Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one count of aggravated break and enter. His legal team argues the shootings were accidental and that he acted in self-defence.

Lamarre-Condon's account, delivered via a statement read to the court by prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC on Tuesday, directly contradicts the testimony of a friend identified in court as Elizabeth Kennedy. Kennedy gave evidence last week that she thought she and Lamarre-Condon were going to lunch when he picked her up two days after the alleged killings. She denied knowing anything about the bodies and said she did not assist in their disposal.

In his statement, Lamarre-Condon alleged that Kennedy "flat-out lied to police in her statement regarding her involvement". He claimed that after he showed her the bodies in the back of a van, he asked if he should drive straight to the police station. Kennedy allegedly replied that they would not believe him and that they had to get rid of the bodies straight away. Lamarre-Condon said Kennedy compared the situation to the Taylor Swift song "No Body, No Crime" and played the track on her phone while they drove.

Lamarre-Condon stated that Kennedy helped carry the bodies to a farm in Bungonia and poured concrete into bags to help them sink. He alleged she used his pocketknife to cut holes in a surfboard cover, which he said caused the knife wounds found on Luke Davies's leg. He described her as a "willing participant" who did not say she wanted to stop at any point.

Kennedy disputed these claims in court. She said she waited at a gate while Lamarre-Condon drove to a dam, and she denied helping to sink the bodies. She told the court she is five feet tall and weighs 55 kilograms, adding that she does not think she could carry a body even if she tried. She also stated that Lamarre-Condon was the one who played the Swift song in the car, calling it a "very niche song".

Lamarre-Condon said he initially did not report Kennedy's involvement because she begged him not to. He told the court he later decided to be honest because he "can't lie under oath". He handed himself in to police at 10.37am on 23 February 2024, after reporting a psychological injury to a police assistance line earlier that morning.

During a phone call played for the jury, Lamarre-Condon told an operator he was suffering from anxiety and "some symptoms of schizophrenia". He said the trauma of the events had left him without the mental capability he had before joining the police force and that he had been severely bullied. Lamarre-Condon told the operator he was on his way to a central police station and that the detectives were already aware he was being driven there.

The trial before Justice Natalie Adams is ongoing.