Killer cop denies cancer claim was sign of desperation
Miklos Bolza |
Beau Lamarre-Condon has rejected claims romantic desperation lay behind a lengthy cancer message sent to an ex-boyfriend he later killed.
The 31-year-old has pleaded not guilty to murdering Jesse Baird and Luke Davies with his police-issue pistol at an inner-city Sydney terrace in February 2024.
On his sixth day of evidence in the NSW Supreme Court, the former senior constable was asked about a 1600-word message he asked friend Shae Davidson to send to Mr Baird after they broke up in November 2023.
“(Lamarre-Condon) was told he has a cancerous tumour growing within his left shoulder,” the message read.
“Worst case scenario could result in … having to possibly have his arm amputated.”
Lamarre-Condon said a naturopath told him he had sporadic shoulder cancer but acknowledged some aspects of the lengthy message were not true.
“You were so desperate to get him back that you were prepared to say or do anything at this stage?” crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC asked on Thursday.
“I don’t agree with that,” the 31-year-old said.
He earlier denied claims Mr Baird was ambivalent about the relationship while Lamarre-Condon was obsessed.
“Your unrequited love turned into an obsession, didn’t it?” Mr Hatfield asked.
“That is not the case,” the former officer replied.
Lamarre-Condon and Mr Baird dated from December 2022 until their April 2023 break-up when the latter could not commit to an exclusive relationship.
The former officer claims they rekindled the relationship in September 2023.
However, in November he went through Mr Baird’s phone and saw messages showing his love interest was also dating another man Damon Wilson.
Lamarre-Condon said he deleted messages as what he saw contradicted his belief the TV presenter was not dating Mr Wilson.
He denied he was angry about this finding, telling Mr Hatfield he was “kind of frustrated”.
Lamarre-Condon admitted what he did was wrong.
But he told jurors he checked the messages and blocked Mr Wilson because he did not want to help Mr Baird cheat if he was in an exclusive relationship with someone else.
“It was based on your own sexual jealousy in relation to Mr Baird, wasnt it?” Mr Hatfield asked.
“No,” Lamarre-Condon said.
Lamarre-Condon said he did not come out directly and ask Mr Baird about the other man to avoid an argument.
He admitted posting an image of flowers on Instagram six days earlier in a story only Mr Wilson could see to falsely represent he was in a relationship with Mr Baird.
Lamarre-Condon also posted a separate video of Mr Baird on his bed playing with his dog to Mr Wilson and other close friends.
The posts were to weed out whether Mr Wilson and Mr Baird were in an exclusive relationship, the jury heard.
It was the flowers post that caused Mr Baird to cut contact with Lamarre-Condon.
He said later in November, he poured water in the petrol tank of Mr Baird’s ute after suspecting the TV presenter of scratching the rims of his Tesla.
“Definitely by January 2024, I knew I had to move on,” he told the jury.
Mr Baird and Mr Davies were fatally shot in their Paddington home on February 19, 2024.
Prosecutors alleged Lamarre-Condon was obsessed with Mr Baird despite the couple breaking up, staking out the other man’s house for hours before entering the home to murder him.
The 31-year-old claims he disguised himself as an Uber Eats driver to retrieve belongings from Mr Baird’s home and has argued self-defence for the killings.
He led police to where their bodies were stuffed in surfboard bags and buried behind a rural monastery when he handed himself in days after the incident.
The trial continues on Friday.
AAP