Double murder-accused Beau Lamarre-Condon acted in 'self defence', court told

Read the original at ABC News (AU) ↗
ABC News (AU) · collected 2026-09-22 · by Jamie McKinnell

Quick Summary

Beau Lamarre-Condon, a former Sydney police officer, is on trial for the murder of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, with his defense arguing that he acted in self-defense. The case began in February 2024 when Lamarre-Condon, dressed as an Uber Eats delivery driver, entered Baird’s home to retrieve personal belongings after a breakup. Defense counsel John Stratton SC claims that the confrontation turned violent unexpectedly and that Lamarre-Condon had the gun with him due to his training as a police officer.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-22, 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

The trial of Beau Lamarre-Condon, a former police officer in Sydney, began on February 5, 2026, for allegedly murdering Jesse Baird and Luke Davies with his service firearm inside Baird's home in Paddington. Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to two counts of domestic violence-related murder and one count of aggravated break and enter. The court heard that Lamarre-Condon had an obsessive infatuation with Baird, whom he had previously dated but was later rejected by. This led to alleged stalking behavior which left Baird "petrified" and concerned about Lamarre-Condon's access to a gun.

Written for “Beau Lamarre-Condon Double Murder Trial” on 2026-10-05, grounded in this article and the 19 other(s) covering the same event.

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
24
claim-shaped sentences
Uncertain
17%
4 of 24 hedged
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Correction & hedging signals
60.8
corrections and hedging in what we collected; not a measure of accuracy
Outlets on this story
20
Crime & Law
Narrative spread
1
articles carrying this framing
Analyzed 2026-09-22 · how these are computed

Story

📰 Beau Lamarre-Condon Double Murder Trial
Crime & Law · 20 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 17% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Guardian · 0.91 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 12% hedged 4 of 32 📰 publisher trust 68
“Both articles describe Beau Lamarre-Condon's defense in the same murder trial for the killings of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, claiming self-defense.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 11% hedged 4 of 35 📰 publisher trust 61
“Both articles describe testimony and proceedings in the same ongoing criminal trial for Beau Lamarre-Condon, who is accused of murdering Jesse Baird and Luke Davies.”
The Sydney Morning Herald · 0.95 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 16% hedged 15 of 94 📰 publisher trust 61
“Both articles describe Beau Lamarre-Condon's court appearance where his defense argues self-defense for the murders of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, on the same date.”
The Guardian
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 6% hedged 1 of 16 📰 publisher trust 68
“The articles discuss different aspects of the trial proceedings, but describe distinct moments in time rather than a single occurrence.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 50% hedged 1 of 2 📰 publisher trust 61
“The articles describe different aspects of the same case, but they report on distinct court proceedings or testimonies rather than a single identical incident.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 14% hedged 3 of 22 📰 publisher trust 61
“While both articles discuss Beau Lamarre-Condon's murder trial, Article A focuses on his defense of self-defense and jury instructions, while Article B covers evidence presented in court including CCTV footage and a conversation about a surfboard bag. These are different aspects of the ongoing trial rather than describing the exact same incident.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 16% hedged 10 of 63 📰 publisher trust 61
“Both articles describe Beau Lamarre-Condon's alleged murder of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies in Sydney on February 19, 2024.”
BBC News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 5% hedged 1 of 21 📰 publisher trust 78
“While both articles discuss the same accused individual and victims, they describe different parts of the legal proceedings and do not report on a single incident at the same time.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 13% hedged 7 of 53 📰 publisher trust 61
“While both articles discuss the same defendant and victims in a murder trial, they describe different aspects of the proceedings: one focuses on the prosecution's claim that the accused disguised himself as an Uber Eats rider before committing the murders, while the other addresses the defense's argument of self-defense.”
Daily Mail
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 67% hedged 4 of 6 📰 publisher trust 65
“While both articles discuss Beau Lamarre-Condon's trial for double murder, Article A reports on his appearance in court and plea, while Article B focuses on the defense strategy presented during the trial.”

Publisher

ABC News (AU) · 2051 article(s) · 2 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 2 correction(s)
2026-09-15
Canberra man posed as teenage girl to obtain child abuse material
2026-09-07
'Her career's finished': Fugitive Sydney developer's daughter avoids jail

Who wrote this

Jamie McKinnell
10 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 His lawyers have indicated there will be a self defence argument.
🔮 In short: A friend of former police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon has told his double murder trial he once asked her if she would help hide a body.
🔮 Beau Lamarre-Condon would go through his phone and delete contacts, the court heard, and Mr Baird told his mum that in late 2023, he had told the then-NSW Police officer he did not want to see him again.
🔮 In short: A friend of Beau Lamarre-Condon told the court the murder accused had asked what she would do if he said, "I killed somebody". She also told the court he had asked, "Would you help me hide the body?" before then "laughing it off".
🔮 Mr Baird's previous long-term partner, Corey Dean Thorpe, on Wednesday gave evidence that in late 2023, Mr Baird told him the defendant would post videos and photos on Instagram of Mr Baird to make it seem like they were in a relationship.
🔮 In short: Former Sydney police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon will argue he acted in self defence on the day he is accused of murdering Sydney couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies.
🔮 A woman who killed and dismembered her husband before disposing of his remains in bins around south-west Sydney has been handed a minimum jail term of three years, and will be eligible for parole next October.
🔮 Had the application succeeded, it would have seen 55 strict conditions imposed on the 22-year-old, which would have been "highly restrictive" of his liberty.
Also by Jamie McKinnell
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 10 articles by Jamie McKinnell →

Topics

Crown Sydney Uber Eats the NSW Supreme Court

Subjects

Baird PERSON · 10× Lamarre-Condon PERSON · 9× Stratton PERSON · 7× Davies PERSON · 4× Sydney GPE · 4× Jesse Baird PERSON · 3× Beau Lamarre-Condon PERSON · 2× Crown ORG · 2× Luke Davies PERSON · 2× the NSW Supreme Court ORG · 1×

Narrative

The Crown's case is that the then-senior constable disguised himself as an Uber Eats delivery driver, including with a helmet, when he entered the Brown Street property, shot Mr Baird twice in the kitchen, and then shot Mr Davies who was in a bedroom calling Triple Zero (000).
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-22
🔮 In short: Former Sydney police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon will argue he acted in self defence on the day he is accused of murdering Sydney couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies.

Claims (24 extracted, 4 hedged)

In short: Former Sydney police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon will argue he acted in self defence on the day he is accused of murdering Sydney couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies. asserted
he → argue → Baird
Mr Lamarre-Condon, 31, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one of aggravated break and enter. asserted
Condon → plead → break
His defence counsel urged jurors against rushing to reach any final conclusion until they have heard all of the evidence in the case. asserted
they → urge → case
Former Sydney police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon will argue he acted in self defence on the day he is accused of murdering Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, with his defence team telling a jury the couple were killed during two struggles involving a police pistol. asserted
couple → argue → pistol
Mr Lamarre-Condon, 31, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one of aggravated break and enter, and is facing a three-month trial in the NSW Supreme Court. asserted
Condon → plead → Court
The Crown has used an opening address to outline what it says was obsessive conduct towards Mr Baird and alleged stalking in the months leading up to February 2024, when the couple was allegedly shot dead in Mr Baird's Paddington terrace in Sydney's east. uncertain
couple → use → east
Jurors have been told Mr Baird and the defendant had previously been romantically involved in 2022 and parts of the following year, but Mr Baird twice broke things off, including in mid-November 2023, and requested no further contact. asserted
Baird → tell → contact
The Crown's case is that the then-senior constable disguised himself as an Uber Eats delivery driver, including with a helmet, when he entered the Brown Street property, shot Mr Baird twice in the kitchen, and then shot Mr Davies who was in a bedroom calling Triple Zero (000). asserted
who → disguise → bedroom
Accused 'very upset' by second break-up On Tuesday, Mr Lamarre-Condon's defence counsel John Stratton SC used his opening address to tell jurors the accused's case was that he did not murder either Mr Baird or Mr Davies, whose deaths he described as "a tragedy". asserted
he → accuse → tragedy
Mr Stratton said there would be no dispute his client was "very upset" by the second break-up and thought Mr Baird "had not been honest with him". asserted
Baird → say → him
It was not disputed Mr Lamarre-Condon did some "stupid things" including looking through Mr Baird's phone, deleting contacts and deleting text messages, jurors were told. asserted
jurors → dispute → messages
And he admitted entering the Brown Street home on February 19, 2024, Mr Stratton said. asserted
Stratton → admit → February
"His reason was that he wanted to recover some of his belongings including some jewellery … without having to go through the embarrassment of having a further meeting with Jesse Baird when he turned up at the door," he told the jury. " asserted
he → want → jury
He disguised himself … because he in fact was expecting there would be no-one home. asserted
he → disguise → fact
He wore a helmet so he could masquerade as a delivery person if anyone unexpectedly opened the door. uncertain
anyone → wear → door
'Self defence' Mr Stratton said it was Mr Lamarre-Condon's case that he had the gun with him because he was a police officer whose training told him he could not leave it unattended in a car. uncertain
he → say → car
Once inside, Mr Lamarre-Condon was "surprised" by Mr Baird who "understandably did not recognise him because he was wearing a motorcycle helmet", Mr Stratton said. asserted
Stratton → surprise → helmet
Mr Stratton said the two men struggled and the gun went off twice, fatally wounding Mr Baird, before it was flung into another room. asserted
it → say → room
He said Mr Lamarre-Condon picked up a mobile phone and started calling Triple Zero, before he encountered Mr Davies as he walked towards the front door, where there was another struggle and Mr Lamarre-Condon pushed the gun away from himself. asserted
Condon → say → himself
"In the struggle that followed, Mr Davies pulled the trigger and fatally shot himself," Mr Stratton said. " asserted
Stratton → follow → himself
The Crown has outlined what it says were steps Mr Lamarre-Condon took to conceal the alleged murders, including cleaning the house and disposing of the pair's bodies by unsuccessfully attempting to sink them in a dam near Goulburn. asserted
Condon → outline → Goulburn
Mr Stratton said it would be submitted that the conduct after the events at Brown Street "were not the actions of a man who believed he was guilty of murder, but the actions of a man who panicked considerably, and knew the gravity of the situation he was in and how it might be perceived". uncertain
it → say → situation
He urged jurors against rushing to reach any final conclusion until they have heard all of the evidence in the case. asserted
they → urge → case
The trial, before Justice Natalie Adams, continues. asserted
trial → continue → Adams
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