Yesterday’s hearing was cut short after Justice Natalie Adams told the 15-person jury at about 12.30pm that “an issue has arisen unexpectedly”.
asserted
issue → cut → 12.30pm
They were told to return at 10am this morning.
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They → tell → am
“These things happen in trials all the time, as you’ve probably learned by now,” the judge said.
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judge → happen → trials
The accused returns to the witness box today for further cross-examination by Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield, SC.
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accused → accuse → Hatfield
The former NSW police officer has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder over the deaths of Jesse Baird, 26, a former TV presenter, and Luke Davies, 29, a Qantas flight attendant.
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officer → plead → Baird
There is no dispute that the men died of gunshot wounds from his police-issued pistol on February 19, 2024, and that the accused disposed of the bodies on February 22, 2024.
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accused → be → February
The Crown alleges that Lamarre-Condon planned to kill Baird after developing an obsessive and jealous infatuation with him and that he killed Davies, Baird’s boyfriend, to eliminate a witness to his crime.
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he → allege → crime
The defence case is that he acted in self-defence after entering Baird’s Paddington share house dressed as an Uber Eats rider to collect some of his possessions after Baird ended their non-exclusive relationship in November 2023.
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Baird → act → November
He said he struck upon the idea for the disguise that morning as a way to ensure Baird did not accuse him of harassment, and he thought nobody was home.
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nobody → say → harassment
Lamarre-Condon said he shot Baird once to disarm him after he lunged at him with a knife and a second shot through his head was accidental.
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shot → say → head
He says that Davies accidentally shot himself after grabbing the gun.
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Davies → say → gun
The 31-year-old accused has told the court he had his police pistol with him because he had contemplated taking his own life the previous night over work-related trauma.
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he → accuse → trauma
He has given the following evidence over three days of cross-examination:
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He → give → examination
- Lamarre-Condon has denied executing Baird and said he stood by his decision to fire the first shot.
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he → deny → shot
He said he was responsible for Baird’s death but did not intend to kill him.
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he → say → him
- He has also denied stalking Baird before his death, including when he saw the then TV presenter having sex with another man while standing outside his bedroom window after the men broke up for the first time in April 2023.
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men → deny → April
He said he was there to collect some belongings.
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he → say → belongings
- The men had met in Sydney in October 2022, the court has heard, and their relationship was not exclusive, but the accused said they started going on “romantic dates” in December that year.
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they → meet → December
The men resumed contact briefly around August or September 2023, after their first break-up, before Baird ended the relationship permanently in November 2023.
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Baird → resume → November
- Lamarre-Condon rejected a suggestion by the prosecution that he was obsessed with Baird “right from the start”.
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he → reject → start
Obsessed, no,” the accused said.
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accused → accuse → ?
- The accused admitted he invaded Baird’s privacy and went through his phone on two occasions in March and April 2023.
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he → accuse → March
- He denied breaking into Baird’s home on August 17, 2023.
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He → deny → August
The court has heard he messaged one friend in the aftermath that Baird had “a home invasion”.
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Baird → hear → invasion
He said that he panicked and ran out of Baird’s home with his phone and wallet after Baird woke up while he was attempting to take the phone outside to go through his messages.
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he → say → messages
- The accused told the court he entered the home using a key that Baird left out for him that night, but put a bobby pin in the lock of the door to give the impression someone else had been in the house in case Baird woke up while he was looking through the phone outside.
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he → accuse → phone
The Crown case is that he used a key he had stolen or had copied, an allegation he denied.
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he → use → allegation
- After being shown a screenshot of a text message he sent Baird on the day of the alleged break-in, in which he wrote, “Haha I’ll take that as a no to doing the catch up then”, Lamarre-Condon said he communicated with Baird on other platforms including FaceTime and social media.
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he → show → FaceTime
- He agreed that a friend had called him “Bobby P” in a joke referring to him putting the bobby pin in the door.
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him → agree → door
- He rejected Hatfield’s suggestion that it appealed to him that Baird was a TV presenter.
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Baird → reject → him
“Jesse Baird could have been a garbage cleaner,” he said.
uncertain
he → say → ?
“We actually never really talked much about his work.
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We → talk → work
- He also denied that he had misrepresented the nature of his relationship with Baird in a video he made of them on a farm stay holiday in March 2023.
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he → deny → March
The Aporia
