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CCTV footage played in the NSW Supreme Court has given jurors a minute-by-minute look at the movements of a former Australian police officer in the hours after two men were shot.
Prosecutors allege Beau Lamarre-Condon, 31, killed his ex-boyfriend Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, the 26-year-old’s new partner, at Baird’s Paddington home on February 19, 2024. Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to both murders, with his defence arguing the deaths occurred during separate violent struggles.
On Monday, the jury was shown security camera video of the former senior constable entering an Avis car rental depot on foot just before 9 p.m. — around 12 hours after the killings. A receipt from his Uber account showed he had taken a rideshare from Kensington, where his personal vehicle was parked, to the rental branch, crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC told the court.
The accused is then seen driving out of the depot in a Toyota Hiace van. Forensic officers later discovered significant blood staining in the van, the court heard.
GPS tracking placed the van near the rear roller door of Baird’s house at around 11 p.m. It remained there for only 22 minutes before leaving, according to the prosecutor. Additional CCTV of the van in the same area after midnight on February 20 is expected to be played later in the trial.
The various cars and vans Lamarre-Condon used as he allegedly cleaned up the crime scene and disposed of the bodies have become a central theme in the prosecution’s case. Earlier CCTV from a different car hire business on February 18 — the day before the alleged murders — showed Lamarre-Condon’s mother renting a Mazda CX-5 while her son waited outside.
Prosecutor Hatfield previously told the jury that Lamarre-Condon had asked his mother to hire that vehicle because he had only planned to kill Baird. But when Davies was said to have made a triple-zero call and caught him by surprise, the former officer allegedly shot the 29-year-old through a door. With an extra body to move, he needed a larger vehicle and made additional purchases, the prosecution says.
Friday’s hearing included muffled audio of that triple-zero call from Davies’ phone. An operator is heard saying: “Caller disconnected, no request.” She then adds: “I heard a male say, ‘eff off’, call dropped out.”
Lamarre-Condon’s barrister has said his client placed the call after killing Baird in self-defence, but that it was interrupted by a second struggle in which Davies died.
The two men’s bodies were allegedly left in surfboard bags in the shared house’s courtyard overnight. Baird’s housemates discovered them later that day and took a photo of red liquid leaking from one of the bags.
The purchase of a second surfboard bag after the deaths is another sign that the former officer was adapting to an unexpected killing, the prosecution alleged. The defence, however, contends that the way Lamarre-Condon cleaned and disposed of the bodies reflected panic rather than a premeditated murderous intent.
The trial’s heavy reliance on CCTV and GPS records has not gone unnoticed by legal observers. Several have noted that the prosecution is effectively offering the jury a continuous electronic timeline, stitching together rideshare receipts, rental vehicle records, and pole-camera footage.
Digital forensic evidence of this kind is increasingly common in murder trials, but the volume here is unusual. Observers say that if the data is accepted as reliable, it would be difficult for the defence to argue Lamarre-Condon was not present at key locations during the hours in question.
The trial is ongoing as of March 13, 2025.
This story is based on court proceedings covered by the Australian media and is written for a U.S. audience. It is not legal advice.
