Former police officer admits manslaughter but denies intentionally shooting two men in Sydney trial
Former Australian police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon told his double-murder trial in Sydney that he is guilty of manslaughter but that the shooting of Jesse Baird was not intentional. He is accused over the February 2024 killings of Baird and Luke Davies.
Beau Lamarre-Condon, a former New South Wales police officer, told the state's supreme court in Sydney on Friday that he is "guilty of manslaughter" but that he did not intentionally shoot Jesse Baird. He is on trial accused of fatally shooting Baird and Baird's partner, Luke Davies, with his police service weapon at Baird's home in the Paddington area of Sydney on 19 February 2024.
He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter. As he described the moment he shot Baird from the witness box, Baird's mother, Helen, left the courtroom.
The accused's account
Lamarre-Condon told the jury he went to Baird's home to retrieve his surfboard, clothes and a Cartier ring. He said he drove his mother's car so he would not be recognised, and put on a helmet and clothing from a motorcycle he assumed belonged to a delivery rider so he would look like a food delivery driver and avoid speaking to Baird. He said he wanted to avoid contact because Baird might seek an apprehended violence order against him.
He claimed Baird shouted that they were being robbed and lunged at him, and that he aimed for Baird's right shoulder and fired. He said the gun later went off accidentally as the two struggled and tripped over a storage box. He said he then called the emergency hotline for help.
Of Davies, he claimed the man had picked up the gun and pointed it at him. He said he used police training to turn the weapon away, and that it fired during this movement, hitting Davies.
Other evidence
The court heard he had signed out his firearm for a shift three days earlier, with permission. He also described firing the gun at a tree in Royal national park while thinking of taking his own life.
The trial before Justice Natalie Adams continues.
