Post-killing van hire probed in cop’s murder trial
Tom Wark |
Jurors have seen how dozens of CCTV cameras tracked Beau Lamarre-Condon making purchases across Sydney well into the night after allegedly murdering his ex.
The 31-year-old former senior constable has pleaded not guilty to the murders of his ex Jesse Baird and the 26-year-old’s new partner, Luke Davies, saying they were killed in two separate violent struggles.
CCTV played for the NSW Supreme Court jury on Monday shows Lamarre-Condon arriving on foot at an Avis car rental depot at about 9pm on February 19, 2024, about 12 hours after the killings.
A receipt from his Uber account shows the senior constable hired a rideshare from Kensington, where he left his personal vehicle, to the rental car depot, prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC said.
The accused can be seen driving out of the depot in a Toyota Hiace van, which was later discovered to have significant blood staining by forensics officers.
GPS data from the van shows it was parked near the rear roller door of Mr Baird’s house in Paddington about 11pm, Mr Hatfield said.
It left 22 minutes later, he said.
Further footage of the van near Mr Baird’s house after midnight on February 20 would be played later in the trial, the prosecutor said.
The various vehicles Lamarre-Condon used to get around Sydney and its surrounds while cleaning up the alleged crime scene and disposing of two bodies have been a key part of the prosecution case.
CCTV from another car hire business on February 18 – the day before the alleged murders – shows the former police officer’s mother hiring an SUV while her son waits outside.
Lamarre-Condon got his mother to hire the Mazda CX-5 because he intended to only kill Mr Baird, Mr Hatfield previously told the jury.
But after being surprised by Mr Davies making a triple-zero call, he shot the 29-year-old through a door and had to upsize his vehicle and make extra purchases to accommodate the extra body, the prosecution alleges.
Muffled audio of the triple-zero call made from Mr Davies’ phone was played to the jury on Friday.
After muffled words and sounds, an operator can be heard saying, “Caller disconnected, no request”.
“I heard a male say, ‘eff off’, call dropped out,” she says.
Lamarre-Condon’s barrister says his client made the call after killing Mr Baird in self-defence but it was cut short by a second struggle in which Mr Davies died.
The men’s bodies were left in surfboard bags in the sharehouse’s courtyard overnight.
Mr Baird’s housemates took a photo of red liquid leaking from the bag when they discovered it later that day.
The purchase of the second surfboard bag after the deaths is a further indicator of the former officer adapting to the unexpected killing of Mr Davies, the prosecution alleges.
But Lamarre-Condon’s barrister says the lengths he went to in cleaning and disposing of the bodies showed his panic, rather than a murderous intent.
The trial continues.
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AAP