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In a Sydney court, Jesse Baird’s housemate testified that she unknowingly took a photo of surfboard bags containing the bodies of Baird and his partner after their alleged murders by Beau Lamarre-Condon on February 19, 2024. The housemate, referred to as Belinda Smith, believed the red liquid covering the bags was rusted water from outdoor furniture when she saw it in her courtyard on February 20th. This testimony is part of ongoing legal proceedings where Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to murder and aggravated break and enter charges.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-02,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In February 2024, 31-year-old Beau Lamarre-Condon is accused of fatally shooting Jesse Baird, a 26-year-old AFL umpire, and his partner Luke Davies, a 29-year-year-old Qantas flight attendant, in Baird’s home in Paddington, Sydney. Lamarre-Condon, a former police officer who allegedly used his service weapon, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
During the trial at the New South Wales Supreme Court, evidence presented includes crime scene photographs showing bullet holes and bloodstains from Baird's home, as well as items like bloodied belongings found in a skip bin at the Cronulla Bowls Club. A greenkeeper testified that he discovered these items two days after the alleged murders.
The prosecution claims Lamarre-Condon developed an "obsessive infatuation" with Baird, which escalated into violence when their casual relationship ended in November 2023. Meanwhile, Lamarre-Condon’s defense team has suggested a self-defense argument and indicated there were multiple struggles involving both victims before the shootings.
Jurors also heard text messages purportedly sent by Baird's phone after his death, attempting to create an illusion that he was still alive. His housemate, Belinda Smith, took photos of surfboard bags with what she thought was "rusted water," unaware they contained the bodies of Baird and Davies until later in the investigation.
Written for “Lamarre Condon Trial” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 8 other(s) covering the same event.
Jesse Baird’s housemate didn’t know she was looking at bags with Baird and his partner’s dead bodies, when she took a photo of oozing surfboard covers the night of their alleged murders, a court has heard.
asserted
court → know → murders
Beau Lamarre-Condon, 31, has been accused of fatally shooting Baird and Luke Davies with his police service weapon in Baird’s Paddington home on 19 February 2024.
asserted
Condon → accuse → February
He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter.
asserted
He → plead → break
Baird’s housemate, known to the court under the pseudonym Belinda Smith, said she returned home from work on the evening after the shootings and went out to the courtyard to check on her washing after a day of heavy rain.
asserted
she → know → rain
There, she saw “two surfboard bags with a blue tarp over the top of them and red liquid”, she told the trial on Thursday.
asserted
she → see → Thursday
Smith took a photo of the liquid and sent it to their other housemate, known to the court under the pseudonym Sarah King.
asserted
Smith → take → pseudonym
The photo was shown to the jury on Thursday.
asserted
photo → show → Thursday
Asked what she thought the liquid was, Smith told the court she believed it was “rusted water from the outdoor furniture”.
asserted
it → ask → furniture
Asked by crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC if Baird had ever spoken to her about surfing or if she had seen a surfboard in their house, she confirmed she had not.
asserted
she → ask → house
“You had no reason to suspect there was anything else in those surfboard bags?” he asked.
asserted
he → have → bags
Smith responded: “no”.
asserted
Smith → respond → ?
In early 2024, relations had soured between Baird and his two housemates after they asked him to move out so one of their friends could take their spot.
uncertain
one → sour → spot
Baird eventually agreed and told their house group chat he would be moving out on 20 February 2024 Baird and Davies were fatally shot on 19 February.
asserted
Baird → agree → February
But when Smith left for work on the morning of the 20th and saw Baird’s belongings had not been packed up, Smith sent a message to King that read: “I’m genuinely scared this dude isn’t moving out today”.
asserted
dude → leave → King
A message was then sent from Baird’s phone to their housemate group chat claiming he had hired someone to collect his things and that he “might be doing a road trip to Perth with my mates”.
uncertain
he → send → mates
Smith responded she was “confused” and asked him to have his room emptied because cleaners would be arriving the following day.
asserted
cleaners → respond → him
A response from Baird’s phone asked what time the cleaners had been booked.
asserted
cleaners → ask → time
Afterwards, a number of Baird’s items were removed from his room.
asserted
number → remove → room
By 22 February, the surfboards had been cleared and the liquid was gone, Smith told the court.
asserted
Smith → clear → court
Baird and Davies’ bodies were eventually found in two surfboard bags five days later on the fence line of a rural monastery in Bungonia.
asserted
bodies → find → Bungonia
The defence lawyer John Stratton SC said during his opening statement that Baird and Davies were fatally shot in “self-defence” after struggles with the policeman.
asserted
Baird → say → policeman
Lamarre-Condon immediately began cleaning up the scene because he “panicked”, the jury was told.
asserted
jury → begin → scene
The trial before Justice Natalie Adams continues.
asserted
trial → continue → Adams
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