Court hears covert prison recording of Beau Lamarre-Condon speaking with friend

A covert recording of a prison meeting between Beau Lamarre-Condon and a friend has been played to a Sydney court, in which the accused told the friend: "I fully take accountability that you're involved because of me now." The meeting took place in December last year.

Lamarre-Condon, 31, is accused of fatally shooting couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies with his police service weapon at Baird's Paddington home on 19 February 2024. He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter.

The friend, whose identity is suppressed, first gave evidence to the New South Wales supreme court on Friday. The court heard he said Lamarre-Condon allegedly confessed to killing the two men and described it as an "out-of-body experience", before trying to pass it off as a joke. On Monday the friend returned to the witness stand while the recording he made on behalf of police during the prison visit was played to the jury.

At the start of the recording, Lamarre-Condon asked the friend to turn around to show he was not wearing a wire. "You're so paranoid," the friend replied. "Calm down." The friend also said Lamarre-Condon had put him in a very difficult position, and said he was upset because Lamarre-Condon had called him dumb. Lamarre-Condon answered: "You're not dumb OK," and added that the friend was "not self aware in the way that I am."

Lamarre-Condon accused the friend of lying "about so much shit" in his statement to police. He said the friend was wrong to recall him saying Davies was killed to eliminate a witness, and that he had in fact acted in self-defence. "Don't you dare switch up," the friend responded.

On the break and enter charge, Lamarre-Condon said on the recording that entering Baird's home was not break and enter because Baird had had a key cut for him. He conceded it was trespass, but said it was normal to go back to a former partner's home to collect belongings. He said he did not knock because he did not want to be hit with an apprehended violence order, though he called out hello after walking in.

He also said: "If I had planned to do this mate, I'd be cool, calm, collected." According to the recording, he said he would have had "cleaning ready to go" and would not have used a police firearm, adding that he could have obtained another gun for $10,000.

Lamarre-Condon told the friend he had taken him to the Royal national park in early 2024 and fired his gun to test how loud the shots were, because he planned to return there to take his own life. He said he had been suffering suicidality stemming from trauma at work.

During the conversation the friend can be heard threatening to leave several times. "What you're telling me mightn't be the truth," he said. The trial before Justice Natalie Adams continues.

In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.