A Sydney policeman accused of killing his ex-partner and his new boyfriend while dressed as an Uber Eats rider says he was acting in self-defence, a court has heard.
Beau Lamarre-Condon, 31, has pleaded not guilty to killing Jesse Baird, 26, and Baird’s partner Luke Davies, 29, at a home in the suburb of Paddington in 2024.
In court on Tuesday, defence barrister John Stratton SC said the accused went to Baird’s home to collect some belongings and wore a motorcycle helmet so as not to be recognised.
When he saw Baird after letting himself in, the pair struggled, ending when Baird was shot twice. Davies then picked up the gun and accidentally shot himself in a separate struggle, Stratton said.
During his opening address, Stratton said Lamarre-Condon did not murder the pair and that he had gone to the Baird’s home that morning, expecting it would be empty.
Stratton said the reason the accused was dressed as an Uber Eats delivery driver was to avoid “the embarrassment of having a further meeting” with Baird, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Lamarre-Condon, who used a key given to him by Baird, was caught off guard when he saw Baird at home and the pair struggled as Baird did not recognise who it was due to the disguise, Stratton said.
After Baird was shot, the gun was “flung” across the room and Davies picked it up, Stratton told the court.
Lamarre-Condon then grabbed Davies’ arm, pushing the gun away from himself and towards Davies, and during the tussle, Davies accidentally shot himself, the defence alleged.
The accused “understandably panicked” as “he knew this looked bad,” Stratton said.
Earlier on Tuesday, the court heard audio of the alleged gunshots, with prosecutors saying Davies was shot as he tried to call Triple Zero.
Prosecutors also told the court that Lamarre-Condon had confessed to a friend that he had killed two people with a gun, and allegedly made a hand gesture and said “pew pew”.
On the first day of the trial on Monday, the court heard how Lamarre-Condon and Baird, a TV presenter, had briefly dated before they split in late-2023.
Prosecutors, in their opening address on Monday, said the accused had developed an “obsessive and jealous infatuation” with Baird and that he had previously stolen a key to Baird’s home.
In the weeks after they broke up, Lamarre-Condon used a friend’s phone to message Baird and claim he had cancer, stalked his ex-lover, and tampered with his car, the prosecution alleged.
The jury trial is expected to last for up to 12 weeks.
