Beau Lamarre-Condon has said he is “guilty of manslaughter” but said shooting Jesse Baird wasn’t intentional, as he gave evidence in his double-murder trial.
asserted
he → say → trial
The former police officer is accused of fatally shooting Baird and his partner, Luke Davies, with his police service weapon in Baird’s Paddington home in Sydney on 19 February 2024.
asserted
officer → accuse → February
He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter.
asserted
He → plead → break
Lamarre-Condon continued giving evidence at the New South Wales supreme court on Friday.
asserted
Condon → continue → Friday
He described the moment he shot Baird, at which point Baird’s mother, Helen, left the courtroom.
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mother → describe → courtroom
“As police officers we are trained to shoot people at the centre of body mass …
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we → train → mass
I had a split second moment where I said drop the knife …
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I → have → knife
It was just police mode now,” he said from the witness box.
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he → say → box
“If I didn’t do that I was 110% going to have that knife driven into my throat.
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knife → do → throat
And Jesse Baird was going to be sitting in my position today.”
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Baird → go → position
He told the jury about an occasion when he went to the Royal national park with a friend and shot his gun.
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he → tell → gun
At this time he was thinking of taking his own life, and he wanted to test how loud his gun was, he told the jury.
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he → think → jury
He says he fired it at a tree.
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he → say → tree
“I was very aware of making sure the bullet didn’t hit any innocent person,” Lamarre-Condon said.
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Condon → make → person
The court also heard Lamarre-Condon signed out his firearm for a shift, three days before the alleged murders.
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Condon → hear → murders
He had permission to do this, he told the court, and on the way to work had stopped at East Village shopping centre in Zetland to get his car washed.
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car → tell → Zetland
The former officer claimed in court that it was common for police to get coffee or stop off elsewhere on the way to work.
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police → claim → work
He said he was thinking of stopping at Paddington to get his belongings from Baird before the other man got home from work, which would have put him in the “exact same” position he was in today as his firearm was still in his backpack.
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firearm → say → backpack
On the day of the alleged murders, the officer said he wanted to retrieve his surfboard, clothes and Cartier ring from Baird’s home.
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he → allege → home
He took his mother’s car, because he did not want to be recognised, and began driving up and down Baird’s street to look for his ute, the jury heard.
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jury → take → ute
Lamarre-Condon then parked the car in a spot left by Baird’s housemate, he told the jury.
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he → park → jury
He claimed he did not want to come into contact with Baird due to a risk the other man could take out an apprehended violence order against him as Baird had previously asked him to “please refrain from contacting me”.
uncertain
Baird → claim → me
Lamarre-Condon told the court he had seen what he assumed to be someone’s delivery motorcycle:
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he → tell → court
“As soon as I saw that I had an idea … I saw a hi-vis hooded jacket, waterproof long pants and gloves.
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I → see → jacket
“This moment here … I wish that I didn’t do this …
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I → wish → this
But I had the thought process that if I was to put on this helmet and outfit I could knock on Jesse’s door I would look like an UberEats driver without any verbal interaction with Jesse,” he said.
uncertain
he → have → Jesse
The accused claimed Baird’s room was empty when he entered the home and that he looked through some storage boxes in the bedroom in search of his clothes but couldn’t find them.
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he → claim → them
Lamarre-Condon said he was still wearing the motorcycle helmet and his firearm in a holster under his shirt, when Baird saw him.
“He started yelling, ‘we’re getting robbed, we’re getting robbed’ …
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we → say → him
He couldn’t see it was me because the visor was down,” Lamarre-Condon said.
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Condon → see → ?
At this point he claimed Baird lunged at him.
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Baird → claim → him
Lamarre-Condon claimed he aimed for Baird’s right shoulder and discharged the firearm.
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he → claim → firearm
The two continued to struggle but the officer’s finger remained on the trigger, the jury heard.
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jury → continue → trigger
They tripped over a storage box on the ground, which is when Lamarre-Condon “accidentally” discharged the gun, he told the court: “It was my fault …
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It → trip → court
The jury heard he dialled the emergency hotline to try to get help for Baird.
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he → hear → Baird
But when he looked up, he saw Davies, who he didn’t recognise him at the time.
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he → look → time
The accused claims the other man had picked up his gun.
uncertain
man → accuse → gun
“It was pointed towards me at my chest and he said ‘I’m going to fucking shoot you’,” he told the court.
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he → point → court
“I started lowering my body towards the ground: I said, ‘Please don’t shoot me, I’m not here to shoot you.
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I → start → you
I’m not a threat I’m not here to hurt you
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I → ’m → you
“That’s when he raised the gun towards my head and said, ‘Fuck off.”
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he → ’ → head
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
