Former police officer in Sydney claims self-defense — ABC News Australia
In Sydney, Australia, former police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon will argue in court that he acted in self-defense on the day Jesse Baird and Luke Davies died. The 31-year-old defendant has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one count of aggravated break and enter.
As ABC News Australia reports, the trial in the Supreme Court of New South Wales is expected to last three months. Lamarre-Condon's defense lawyer, John Stratton, urged jurors not to reach final conclusions until they had heard all the evidence.
Defense version
According to Stratton, his client admits that he entered Baird's house on Brown Street in Paddington on February 19, 2024. The defense claims that he wanted to collect his own belongings, including jewelry, and did not expect anyone to be home. According to this account, Lamarre-Condon wore a helmet to pass himself off as a courier if someone opened the door.
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The lawyer said the defendant had a pistol with him because, as a police officer, he could not leave it unattended in a car. According to the defense, after an unexpected encounter with Baird, a struggle occurred between them, during which the pistol fired twice, fatally wounding Baird. Later, the defense claims, during another struggle with Davies, he pulled the trigger and fatally wounded himself.
Prosecution's position
Prosecutors told the jury that Lamarre-Condon had allegedly displayed obsessive behavior toward Baird and stalked him for months before February 2024. According to the prosecution, the former senior constable, disguised as an Uber Eats courier and wearing a helmet, entered the house, shot Baird twice in the kitchen, and then shot Davies, who was in a bedroom and calling the 000 emergency service.
The prosecution also claims that after the events in the house, Lamarre-Condon cleaned the premises and tried to conceal the bodies, unsuccessfully attempting to sink them in a dam near Goulburn. The defense insists that the defendant's subsequent actions were the result of panic and an awareness of how others might perceive the situation.
