Lamarre-Condon said he wanted to ‘do the right thing’ for families of dead couple, court told

Read the original at The Sydney Morning Herald ↗
Cite

Whitbourn, M. (2026, October 27). Lamarre-Condon said he wanted to ‘do the right thing’ for families of dead couple, court told. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/lamarre-condon-said-he-wanted-to-do-the-right-thing-for-families-of-dead-couple-court-told-20261027-p618xf.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Sydney Morning Herald · collected 2026-10-27 · by Michaela Whitbourn

Quick Summary

Beau Lamarre-Condon told police he wanted to “do the right thing” for the families of murdered Sydney couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, implicating his former friend Elizabeth Kennedy in helping him dispose of their bodies. This statement was given on June 5, 2025, during Lamarre-Condon’s trial in the NSW Supreme Court, where he faces charges for the murders that occurred on February 19, 2024. In his police statement, Lamarre-Condon described showing Kennedy the men’s bodies and her role in attempting to dispose of them, though she denies involvement beyond being unaware of their presence when driving with him near Goulburn.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-27, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Beau Lamarre-Condon, 31, is accused of fatally shooting Jesse Baird and Luke Davies with his police service weapon in Baird’s Paddington home on February 19, 2024. He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter, arguing that the deaths were accidental and he acted in self-defense. During his trial in the NSW Supreme Court, Lamarre-Condon accused a friend, Elizabeth Kennedy, of encouraging him to dispose of the bodies instead of reporting them to authorities. Kennedy denied involvement, stating she was unaware of the situation when accompanying Lamarre-Condon on a drive two days after the alleged murders. The court heard that Lamarre-Condon told police he wanted to do "the right thing" by informing authorities about Kennedy’s supposed role in disposing of the bodies.

Written for “Lamarre-Condon Testimony In Murder Trial” on 2026-10-28, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Lamarre-Condon Testimony In Murder Trial
Crime & Law · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 9% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Daily Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 21% hedged 11 of 53 📰 publisher trust 68
“The articles describe different parts of the same case - one covers the alleged murder and disposal of bodies, while the other covers a later police statement made during trial.”
The Guardian
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 16% hedged 5 of 32 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles describe Lamarre-Condon's statement to police and court regarding his involvement in the deaths of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies on February 19, 2024.”
Daily Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 38% hedged 3 of 8 📰 publisher trust 68
“The articles describe different parts of the trial and different statements made by Beau Lamarre-Condon, not the same specific incident.”
ABC News (AU)
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 14 📰 publisher trust 68
“The articles describe different aspects of the trial: one about a statement to police regarding disposal of bodies, the other about a reported psychological injury on the way to handing himself in.”
Daily Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 27% hedged 3 of 11 📰 publisher trust 68
“While both articles discuss Beau Lamarre-Condon's trial for alleged murders involving Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, they describe different parts of the legal proceedings. Article A focuses on testimony from a friend regarding their trip to dispose of bodies, while Article B discusses Lamarre-Condon's statement to police about wanting to do the right thing by giving an account of events.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 13% hedged 6 of 46 📰 publisher trust 61
“While both articles are about Beau Lamarre-Condon's trial for double murder, they describe different parts of the proceedings and confessions.”
Daily Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 12% hedged 1 of 8 📰 publisher trust 68
“The articles describe different aspects of the case: one focuses on Lamarre-Condon allegedly measuring a surfboard bag to fit a dead body, while the other describes his statement to police about wanting to do the right thing for the victims' families.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
34
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
9%
3 of 34 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
61/100
The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-27 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 5240 article(s) · 12 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 12 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Michaela Whitbourn
28 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 “I then instructed my solicitors to make contact with the DPP and officer in charge to inform them that I’m willing to assist with a statement regarding Elizabeth’s involvement in the matter.
🔮 Lamarre-Condon said the second person “wasn’t even meant to be shot” but he couldn’t leave any witnesses, the man said.
🔮 I was running a tad late or I would have loved to chat for longer.
🔮 “My kids needed stuff for school and I couldn’t afford it.”
🔮 She said they subsequently spoke on the phone and he “asked me if I could do him a favour”.
🔮 He said that “the original shot would have been discharged at a very similar distance” of between five and ten centimetres from the door.
🔮 Moon said there was one officer who had the same type of cartridge, meaning it was “possibly a cartridge that may have been distributed to NSW Police at some time”.
🔮 The Crown has foreshadowed that the court will hear evidence that Lamarre-Condon asked the friend who accompanied him on the first shopping trip whether he would fit inside the surfboard bag.
🔮 Lamarre-Condon’s criminal trial heard on Wednesday that the woman, known as Elizabeth Kennedy in the proceedings, gave an induced statement to police, meaning a statement given on the condition that what is disclosed will not be used against them in any criminal proceeding.
🔮 “[He] knew the gravity of the situation that he was in and how it might be perceived and was overawed by it,” he said.
Also by Michaela Whitbourn
Yacht gutted by fierce blaze off Double Bay
2026-10-17 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 28 articles by Michaela Whitbourn →

Topics

Goulburn Network Ten Qantas Sydney the NSW Supreme Court

Subjects

Kennedy PERSON · 12× Lamarre-Condon PERSON · 9× Elizabeth PERSON · 4× Baird PERSON · 2× Davies PERSON · 2× Goulburn GPE · 2× Sydney GPE · 2× Beau Lamarre-Condon PERSON · 1× Jesse Baird PERSON · 1× Luke Davies PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Beau Lamarre-Condon told police he wanted to “do the right thing” by the families of Sydney couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies by giving a statement accusing a former friend of helping him to dispose of their bodies, a court has heard.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-27
🔮 “I then instructed my solicitors to make contact with the DPP and officer in charge to inform them that I’m willing to assist with a statement regarding Elizabeth’s involvement in the matter.

Claims (34 extracted, 3 hedged)

Beau Lamarre-Condon told police he wanted to “do the right thing” by the families of Sydney couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies by giving a statement accusing a former friend of helping him to dispose of their bodies, a court has heard. asserted
court → tell → bodies
Lamarre-Condon is standing trial in the NSW Supreme Court over the alleged murders of Baird, 26, a former Network Ten producer and presenter, and Davies, 29, a Qantas flight attendant, on February 19, 2024. asserted
Condon → stand → February
The former NSW police officer has pleaded not guilty to the charges. asserted
officer → plead → charges
In a statement to police on June 5, 2025, read in court on Tuesday, the accused implicated his former friend, dubbed Elizabeth Kennedy in the proceedings, in a plan to dispose of the men’s bodies on February 21. asserted
accused → read → February
Kennedy has told the court that she was unaware when Lamarre-Condon took her on a drive to Bungonia, near Goulburn, that the men’s bodies were in the back of the white van and did not help him to dispose of them. asserted
him → tell → them
The court has heard Kennedy accompanied Lamarre-Condon to a Bunnings in Goulburn during the trip, where he asked her to buy an angle grinder. asserted
he → hear → grinder
She testified that he used the tool to cut the padlock on a rural property nearby, and explained to her that he knew the owners of the farm and had to break in and help with cattle. asserted
he → testify → cattle
She waited near the gate and did not accompany him any further, Kennedy said. asserted
Kennedy → wait → him
“I noticed she flat-out lied to police in her statement regarding her involvement,” Lamarre-Condon said in his statement. “In June 2025 I had discussions with my lawyers about what pleas I’m considering entering. asserted
I → notice → pleas
“This is when I made the decision that if I’m going to be honest about everything I need to tell the whole truth, including what part Elizabeth played in the incident. asserted
Elizabeth → make → incident
“I then instructed my solicitors to make contact with the DPP and officer in charge to inform them that I’m willing to assist with a statement regarding Elizabeth’s involvement in the matter. asserted
I → instruct → matter
“I also wanted to do the right thing for the families as they deserve to know the truth too.” asserted
they → want → truth
Lamarre-Condon said he was honest with Kennedy about the men’s bodies being in the back of the van and lifted the tarpaulin to show her Baird’s head “protruding out of a single surfboard bag”. asserted
bodies → say → bag
He said he started crying and said: “I should just drive straight to the police now, shouldn’t I?” asserted
I → say → police
The accused also said that he warned Kennedy that she could be charged as an accessory if she helped him. uncertain
she → accuse → him
He said Kennedy told him that “this is like Taylor Swift’s song, No Body, No Crime” and they had to dispose of the bodies. asserted
they → say → bodies
She played the song on her phone during the drive and “began laughing about the situation”, Lamarre-Condon said. asserted
Condon → play → situation
“Elizabeth then told me I had to sneak her into the Taylor Swift concert I was due to work at that weekend as a reward for her helping me,” he said. asserted
he → tell → me
Kennedy has denied that account, and said it was Lamarre-Condon who played the song. asserted
who → deny → song
The accused said in his statement that the pair had attempted to dispose of the men’s bodies by sinking them in a dam at the rural property but were unsuccessful. asserted
pair → accuse → property
Kennedy had told him to buy them overalls and masks before the trip, he said. asserted
he → tell → trip
He said they put the men in a second layer of surfboard bags and Kennedy had slashed one of the bags with a knife when it would not sink. asserted
it → say → knife
“This is where Luke got the knife wounds in his leg,” the accused said of forensic evidence suggesting Davies had been stabbed twice in his thigh around the time of death or after death. asserted
Davies → get → death
Lamarre-Condon said they drove back to Sydney when their plan failed, leaving the bodies behind. asserted
plan → say → bodies
He said he was worried that he wasn’t going to be able to lift the bodies by himself and Kennedy suggested her partner could help. uncertain
partner → say → himself
He said she called him and he “agreed he would return to the farm with me when I dropped Elizabeth home”, while Kennedy has said he was asleep when she got home. asserted
she → say → Elizabeth
Lamarre-Condon said Kennedy’s partner came outside to the van after she ran inside to get him torches, but did not refer to any further alleged involvement by him. asserted
she → say → him
Police found the men’s bodies near the fence line of a Greek monastery in Bungonia on February 27. asserted
Police → find → February
There is no dispute Baird and Davies died on February 19 from gunshot wounds from Lamarre-Condon’s police-issued Glock pistol, and that the accused tried to sink their bodies in the dam before leaving them at the nearby property. asserted
accused → be → property
While the Crown alleges Baird’s murder was premeditated and Lamarre-Condon killed Davies to eliminate a witness, the defence case is that both men died accidentally in a struggle and Davies shot himself. asserted
Davies → allege → himself
The Crown alleges Lamarre-Condon plotted to kill Baird after developing an infatuation with him that escalated when Baird ended their casual relationship in November 2023. asserted
Baird → allege → November
According to the defence, Lamarre-Condon acted in self-defence after entering Baird’s Paddington home disguised as a delivery rider to retrieve some of his belongings. uncertain
Condon → accord → belongings
He panicked, the defence says, and disposed of the bodies days later. asserted
defence → panic → bodies
The trial continues. asserted
trial → continue → ?
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