Former Officer Tells Jury Friend Directed Body Disposal After Double Shooting

A former police officer has told a jury that a friend directed him to dispose of two bodies immediately after a double shooting, directly contradicting testimony she gave the previous week. Beau Lamarre-Condon, 31, presented his defense on Tuesday, alleging that Elizabeth Kennedy, identified by a pseudonym in court, pressured him to hide the remains of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies rather than report the deaths to authorities.

Lamarre-Condon is charged with two counts of murder and one count of aggravated break and enter. He is accused of killing the couple with his service weapon at Baird’s home in Paddington on February 19, 2024. His legal team maintains that the shootings were accidental and that Lamarre-Condon acted in self-defense. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

In a statement read to the court by prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC, Lamarre-Condon described picking up Kennedy two days after the shootings. He claimed he showed her the bodies in the back of a van and began to cry. He stated that he suggested driving to the police, but Kennedy allegedly refused, telling him they had to get rid of the bodies straight away.

Lamarre-Condon quoted Kennedy as saying, “No, no, you can’t. They won’t believe you.” He claimed she referenced a Taylor Swift song titled “No Body, No Crime” and played it on her phone while laughing. He alleged he warned Kennedy she could be charged as an accessory to murder and that she agreed to help because he would assist her in the future.

The defendant said Kennedy helped carry the bodies to a farm in Bungonia. He stated that she poured concrete into bags to help them sink into a dam. When a bag failed to sink, Lamarre-Condon claimed Kennedy used his pocketknife to cut holes into a surfboard cover. He said this action resulted in knife wounds on Luke Davies’s leg. He described Kennedy as a willing participant throughout the process.

Kennedy’s testimony last week offered a different account. She told the court she thought she was going out for lunch with Lamarre-Condon. She denied knowing the details of the disposal and stated, “I didn’t know anything.” She claimed she waited at a gate while Lamarre-Condon drove to the dam. She also disputed that she played the Taylor Swift song in the car, asserting that Lamarre-Condon selected the track.

Lamarre-Condon said he initially kept Kennedy’s involvement secret because she begged him not to tell police. He added that he believed he could not lie under oath if the case reached trial. Kennedy, who testified under questioning by defense barrister John Stratton SC, noted her physical stature, saying she is five feet tall and weighs 55 kilos. She argued that this size made it difficult for her to carry a body.

On February 23, 2024, Lamarre-Condon reported a psychological injury to a police assistance line before handing himself in at 10:37 am. In a recording played to the jury, he identified himself and described suffering from anxiety and symptoms of schizophrenia. He stated that he had been exposed to trauma, destruction, and death, which affected his mental capability. He told the operator that detectives were already aware of his situation and that he was being driven to a central police station.