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Beau Lamarre-Condon admits throwing Jesse Baird’s phone off a bridge after alleged murders, trial hears

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Cite

Wong, K. (2026, November 12). Beau Lamarre-Condon admits throwing Jesse Baird’s phone off a bridge after alleged murders, trial hears. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/nov/12/beau-lamarre-condon-jesse-baird-phone-murder-trial-ntwnfb

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

The Guardian · collected 2026-11-12 · by Kat Wong

Quick Summary

Beau Lamarre-Condon admitted in court on Thursday that he threw Jesse Baird’s phone off Tom Uglys Bridge to destroy evidence after allegedly murdering Baird and his partner, Luke Davies, in Sydney on February 19, 2024. During the ongoing trial, Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield questioned Lamarre-Condon about destroying evidence related to messages and photos between him and Baird. The former police officer faces two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter but has pleaded not guilty.
Written by AI on 2026-11-12, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Beau Lamarre-Condon admitted in court on November 12, 2026, that he threw Jesse Baird’s phone off Tom Uglys Bridge near Sydney's south to destroy evidence after allegedly murdering Baird and his partner Luke Davies. The former police officer is accused of fatally shooting the victims with his service weapon at Baird’s home in Paddington, Sydney, on February 19, 2024. During cross-examination by crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC, Lamarre-Condon acknowledged that he threw the phone to eliminate evidence potentially implicating him in the murders. He also reportedly asked a friend in Western Australia to dispose of the phone in water but did not deny this claim.

Written for “Beau Lamarre-Condon Admits Crimes” on 2026-11-13, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 23% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Guardian
Hedges 2 of 19 claims Outlet record 65/100
“The articles describe different parts of the same trial, but distinct incidents and testimonies.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 1 of 34 claims Outlet record 61/100
“The articles describe different events within the same trial: one covers a text message sent before an alleged home invasion, and the other covers Lamarre-Condon admitting to throwing Baird’s phone off a bridge after the murders.”
The Guardian
Hedges 0 of 28 claims Outlet record 65/100
“The articles describe different parts of the ongoing trial, covering distinct incidents or questions raised during separate days of testimony.”
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 3 of 40 claims Outlet record 67/100
“While both articles discuss Beau Lamarre-Condon's testimony in a trial, they describe different aspects and times within the ongoing legal proceedings.”
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 2 of 28 claims Outlet record 67/100
“The articles describe different stages of the trial, one during cross-examination and another where Lamarre-Condon admits to throwing Baird's phone.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 0 of 7 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles describe different moments in the same trial, not a single specific incident.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 6 of 54 claims Outlet record 61/100
“The articles describe different days and aspects of the trial, indicating they cover separate parts of the ongoing legal proceedings.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 0 of 13 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles describe different parts of the trial, with Article A focusing on Lamarre-Condon admitting to throwing Baird's phone off a bridge after alleged murders and Article B covering his earlier testimony denying breaking into Baird's house to steal the phone.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 3 of 56 claims Outlet record 61/100
“The articles describe different parts of the same trial but cover distinct incidents and lines of questioning.”

Story

Beau Lamarre-Condon Admits Crimes
Crime & Law · 1 article(s) covering the same event.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
13
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
23%
3 of 13 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
65/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-12 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 3360 article(s) · 7 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 7 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Kat Wong
32 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
The prosecutor said he could have used encrypted messaging app Signal on his normal phone, but Lamarre-Condon claimed police could make him unlock his own device and view his Signal records if he was investigated for talking to the media.
As part of his cross examination, crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC put to him: “you did [that to] destroy evidence on Jesse’s phone that might incriminate you”.
He claimed he was only seeing whether that address was available on the app as it would indicate whether or not he was using the service.
Beau Lamarre-Condon has denied being “obsessed” with Jesse Baird from the start of their relationship, telling a court he would have liked the TV presenter even if he was “a garbage cleaner”.
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.
He says 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.
“He would say things such as ‘I used to bash gay people while in Jindabyne’,” Lamarre-Condon told the court on Thursday.
When we would meet up it was of the sexual nature.
“We have a responsibility not to engage in binary thinking, not to engage in the language of violence, [but] to rebuild trust by building financial security in a time of deep insecurity,” Ardern said during a forum with the author Anna Funder. “There are things we could be doing but, right now, we’re making it worse, not better.”
In question time in early September, the prime minister told the house the money would go toward “an environmental project stopping raw sewage going into the Cooks River during flooding”.
Also by Kat Wong
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 32 articles by Kat Wong →

Topics

New South Wales Paddington Sydney Western Australia

Subjects

Lamarre-Condon PERSON · 5× Baird PERSON · 4× Hatfield PERSON · 2× Jesse PERSON · 2× Sydney GPE · 2× Beau Lamarre-Condon PERSON · 1× Jesse Baird’s PERSON · 1× Luke Davies PERSON · 1× New South Wales GPE · 1× Paddington GPE · 1×

Narrative

The former police officer is accused of fatally shooting Baird and his new partner, Luke Davies, with his police service weapon in Baird’s Paddington home in Sydney on 19 February 2024.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-12
As part of his cross examination, crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC put to him: “you did [that to] destroy evidence on Jesse’s phone that might incriminate you”.

Claims (13 extracted, 3 hedged)

Beau Lamarre-Condon has admitted he threw Jesse Baird’s phone off a bridge to destroy evidence after allegedly murdering him, a court has heard. uncertain
court → admit → him
The former police officer is accused of fatally shooting Baird and his new 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
Sitting in the witness box for a sixth day, Lamarre-Condon was asked what he did with Baird’s phone after the alleged murders. asserted
he → sit → murders
He told the court on Thursday it was thrown off Tom Uglys Bridge near the Shire in Sydney’s south. “I didn’t want to have any evidence of Jesse’s phone on me… asserted
I → tell → me
I did throw it off the bridge,” Lamarre-Condon told the New South Wales supreme court. asserted
Condon → throw → court
As part of his cross examination, crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC put to him: “you did [that to] destroy evidence on Jesse’s phone that might incriminate you”. uncertain
that → put → you
Lamarre-Condon responded: “Essentially, yes”. asserted
Condon → respond → ?
The former officer did not deny he had contacted his friend Stacey Parker, who lived in Western Australia, and asked if he could send her the phone for her to throw into a body of water. But he did not end up mailing her the device. uncertain
he → deny → device
Lamarre-Condon was also asked by Hatfield if he deleted messages between himself and Baird, alongside photos of them together, after his arrest. asserted
he → ask → arrest
“You did that deliberately to remove evidence of your relationship with Jesse Baird,” Hatfield told the court. asserted
Hatfield → do → court
Lamarre-Condon said he disagreed and did not believe he had deleted the messages. asserted
he → say → messages
The trial before Justice Natalie Adams continues. asserted
trial → continue → Adams
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