Beau Lamarre-Condon has denied stalking former television presenter Jesse Baird and abusing his position as a police officer to obtain CCTV footage of him with another man.
Under cross-examination in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, the former officer rejected the prosecution’s suggestion that he had been obsessed with Mr Baird from the beginning of their relationship.
“Smitten, yes. Obsessed, no,” the 31-year-old told the court.
Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Baird, 26, and Qantas flight attendant Luke Davies, 29, at Mr Baird’s share house in Paddington on February 19, 2024. He has also denied breaking into Mr Baird’s home six months earlier and stealing his wallet and mobile phone.
The court heard that Lamarre-Condon had messaged Mr Baird the day before the alleged break-in, suggesting they go for a walk and lunch. Mr Baird replied that it had been good to see him, but did not respond to the proposed meeting.
Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield, SC, suggested the reply amounted to “a very strong rejection” of Lamarre-Condon’s advance. The accused said that was how he had interpreted it, but maintained that the pair communicated again later that day and that Mr Baird invited him to stay overnight.
Lamarre-Condon has previously told the court that he entered the property using a key Mr Baird had left out. He said he placed a bobby pin in the lock because he wanted to check Mr Baird’s phone outside while he slept and find out whether he was in a relationship with another man.
“I wanted to see if Jesse was in a relationship [with another man] or not,” he said.
The court has heard that Mr Baird woke and chased an unidentified intruder from the home before reporting the alleged break-in. Police later photographed a bobby pin in the front-door lock.
Alleged monitoring of Jesse Baird
The prosecution also challenged Lamarre-Condon over messages suggesting he knew where Mr Baird was. He denied monitoring him through Snapchat, saying a message to a friend about expecting to run into Mr Baird reflected only “wishful thinking”.
After the pair met that day, the friend asked whether the encounter had been suspicious or had been made to look like a coincidence. Lamarre-Condon replied: “Not sus at all.”
Mr Hatfield put it to him that the exchange showed he had been stalking and monitoring Mr Baird’s location. “I don’t agree,” Lamarre-Condon replied.
Police later found CCTV footage on Lamarre-Condon’s iCloud account showing Mr Baird on a date with another man at the Royal Hotel in Paddington on May 19, 2023.
Lamarre-Condon said he had encountered the footage while assisting police colleagues with official duties after a possible assault nearby. He said Mr Baird had invited him to visit the hotel while he was working in uniform.
“Is the reality that you were stalking Jesse Baird and also misusing your authority as a policeman to access CCTV of him?” Mr Hatfield asked.
“I did not,” Lamarre-Condon replied.
The court has also heard that Lamarre-Condon entered Mr Baird’s home in about April or early May 2023, after their first break-up, to collect clothing and a Polaroid camera he had bought for them. He admitted that he had not asked for direct permission to enter at the time.
Lamarre-Condon described his relationship with Mr Baird as romantic but non-exclusive. He accepted that a video of the pair on a farm holiday could suggest they were a couple in an idyllic relationship, but denied that it falsely portrayed their circumstances.
He admitted going through Mr Baird’s phone during the holiday, unfollowing two or three people on his social media accounts and looking through his messages again later.
Lamarre-Condon also denied that he had been attracted to Mr Baird because he worked as a television presenter, despite having described him in a message to a friend as “the channel 10 reporter guy” after their second date.
“Jesse Baird could have been a garbage cleaner,” he told the court, adding that they had not spoken much about his work.
Lamarre-Condon has said he went to Mr Baird’s house on the day of the deaths to collect belongings, including a Cartier ring and Casablanca shirts. It is not disputed that both men died from gunshot wounds fired from his police-issued Glock pistol.
He has told the court that he acted in self-defence, that Mr Baird was killed during a struggle and that Mr Davies accidentally shot himself.
