The court case of former NSW police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon has begun. Accused of killing Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, Lamarre-Condon’s offer to plead guilty to an alternative charge was rejected.
Former police officer Lamarre-Condon is charged with the murder of Sydney couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies in February 2024, and has been in custody since.
On Monday, the former NSW police officer pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder over the shooting deaths.
The 31-year-old pleaded not guilty to one count of aggravated break and enter of Baird’s home in August 2023, as well as stealing a mobile phone and wallet belonging to Baird.
He offered to plead guilty to an alternative charge of manslaughter, but it was rejected by the prosecution.
The trial is estimated to run for up to 12 weeks, and a jury was selected Monday afternoon.
More than 100 witnesses are expected to be called during the trial.
“I’m going to do everything in my power to ensure this trial is completed by Christmas,” Justice Natalie Adams said in the King Street court complex in Sydney.
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Alleged Lamarre-Condon had an ‘infatuation and obsession’ with Baird
Jesse Baird and Luke Davies were reported missing by family members, and their bodies were found one week later by police after Lamarre-Condon surrendered himself.
It later emerged that Baird and Lamarre-Condon may have previously dated, per police, while some friends described the police officer as a stalker Baird barely knew.
Jesse Baird and Luke Davies. Image: InstagramIn August of 2025, Lamarre-Condon pleaded not guilty to all charges. In October, he claimed he had previously made a formal offer to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to plead guilty to manslaughter and argued he was “entitled” to his early plea discount.
On Monday in court, it was alleged that the former police officer developed an “infatuation and obsession” with one of his victims and disguised himself as an Uber Eats rider before shooting them.
Prosecution’s opening address
In his opening address, Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield said Baird and Lamarre-Condon had become romantically involved from late 2022 and into 2023.
The court heard that this behaviour escalated after Baird ended all contact with Lamarre-Condon in November 2023.
Hatfield alleged Lamarre-Condon began planning the murder of Jesse Baird in early 2024 and that of his new boyfriend to “eliminate him as a witness to the murder”.
Hatfield told the jury members Lamarre-Condon retained his police service weapon when he had “no need to be using it”.
On 19 February 2024, he wore a motorcycle helmet and dressed as an Uber Eats rider to enter Baird’s house with a key he had previously obtained.
The bodies of Baird and Davies were found 200km away in Bungonia, eight days after they were killed, and the prosecution said Lamarre-Condon had unsuccessfully tried to sink the bodies in a dam nearby.
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