Beau Lamarre-Condon Trial Focuses on Flower Ruse and Rental SUV
Former New South Wales senior constable Beau Lamarre-Condon enlisted his mother to purchase flowers and hire an SUV as part of an effort to cover his tracks after the February 2024 murders of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, a jury heard on Tuesday. Lamarre-Condon, 31, has pleaded not guilty to the killings, maintaining through his barrister that the two men died during separate violent struggles.
The trial in the NSW Supreme Court detailed intricate steps taken by the accused to manage evidence and mislead acquaintances following the deaths of Baird, a TV presenter, and Davies, a flight attendant. 1News reported that the proceedings exposed new details regarding vehicle rentals and a fabricated romantic gesture designed to ward off love rivals.
Lamarre-Condon Uses Fake Flower Photo to Deceive Baird
Nicole Harvell, a former police colleague of the accused, testified that Lamarre-Condon confided in her about an Instagram story featuring a bunch of flowers that Baird could not see. The image included the caption, “When he’s in Melbourne but still sends you these,” intended to create the false impression that Baird had sent the flowers to Lamarre-Condon.
Harvell told the court that Lamarre-Condon downloaded a generic photo online to start the ruse. After Baird discovered the deception, Lamarre-Condon spent AU$160 on a fresh bouquet and enlisted his mother, Coleen Lamarre—who is also a police officer—to write a note on it. Lamarre-Condon told Harvell that his mother wrote the note so the handwriting would not match his own, sending a photo of the flowers to Baird to imply they came from a partner in Melbourne.
CCTV Footage Tracks SUV Rental and Van Movements
The trial also examined the movements of vehicles in the days surrounding the killings. CCTV footage from February 18, 2024, showed Lamarre-Condon’s mother hiring a Mazda CX-5 SUV while her son waited outside. Prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC previously told the jury that Lamarre-Condon intended to kill only Baird, but upsized his vehicle after Davies made a triple-zero call and was shot through a door.
Muffled audio of the emergency call from Davies’ phone was played for the jury, capturing an operator stating the call was disconnected with no request, alongside a male voice saying “eff off.” Lamarre-Condon’s barrister argues his client acted in self-defence after killing Baird, with Davies dying in a subsequent struggle.
Additional CCTV footage shown on Tuesday depicted Lamarre-Condon arriving on foot at a rental depot at approximately 9 pm on February 19, 2024, to drive away in a Toyota Hiace van. Forensic officers later discovered significant blood staining inside the vehicle. GPS data indicated the van parked near the rear roller door of Baird’s Paddington house for 22 minutes starting at 11 pm.
Surboard Bags Discovered in Paddington Courtyard
The prosecution pointed to the purchase of a second surfboard bag as evidence that the former officer adapted after Davies’ unexpected death. The bodies of both men were left overnight in surfboard bags in the courtyard of the sharehouse, where housemates photographed red liquid leaking from the bags the following day. Lamarre-Condon’s barrister maintains that the extensive cleaning and disposal efforts reflected panic rather than pre-planned murderous intent.
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