Beau Lamarre-Condon tells double murder trial shooting of Jesse Baird wasn’t intentional but ‘it was my fault’

Former NSW police officer gives evidence for a second day after pleading not guilty to murdering Baird and Luke Davies in early 2024

The day in court: Prosecution begins cross-examination of double murder accused Beau Lamarre-Condon

Beau Lamarre-Condon “stands by” his decision to shoot Jesse Baird but did not intend to kill him, the New South Wales supreme court has heard.

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.

He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter.

Lamarre-Condon continued giving evidence in the double murder trial on Friday, telling the court about the moment he allegedly shot Baird.

“That first shot into Jesse’s right shoulder was the right move. I stand by it,” he said.

He claimed Baird had lunged at him with a knife and told the court he deliberately aimed his gun at the right shoulder, believing it would not kill Baird.

“As police officers we are trained to shoot people at the centre of body mass … I had a split-second moment where I said, ‘Drop the knife’ … It was just police mode now,” he said from the witness box.

“If I didn’t do that I was 110% going to have that knife driven into my throat.”

However, Lamarre-Condon repeatedly told the court he “did not want to kill Jesse”.

“Jesse did not deserve anything like that to happen to him,” he told the court.

“He did nothing to me to deserve to be killed.”

During his second day in the witness box, Lamarre-Condon told the jury he entered Baird’s home on 19 February 2024 because he wanted to retrieve his belongings from the house without being recognised.

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”.

Lamarre-Condon told the court he had seen what he assumed to be someone’s delivery motorcycle: “As soon as I saw that I had an idea … I saw a hi-vis hooded jacket, waterproof long pants and gloves.

“This moment here … I wish that I didn’t do 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.”

The accused thought Baird’s room was empty when he entered the home, he told the court.

He looked through some storage boxes in Baird’s home in search of his belongings, including a Cartier ring and a $2,000 shirt, but could not find them, he said.

When he looked up, he saw Baird with a knife and tape, sealing boxes, and said the other man began yelling, “We’re getting robbed,” the jury heard.