Voice notes reveal accused's state of mind after Paddington shootings

Beau Lamarre-Condon told a man he was seeing through a dating app that he was sick and scheduled for surgery in the days following the alleged double murder of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies. These audio recordings were played to the jury at the New South Wales Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Lamarre-Condon, 31, faces two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter. He is accused of using his police service weapon to fatally shoot Baird and Davies inside Baird’s Paddington home on February 19, 2024. The defendant has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The recordings show the accused texting his date on the night of the alleged murders with the question, “How was your Monday?” The man replied the next morning, and Lamarre-Condon responded hours later with a voice note. In the clip, the officer said he had been “very sick” and had an operation scheduled for the following day. He added that he was trying to “get back into a positive mindset” and had no intentions of going to the gym that week.

Lamarre-Condon mentioned in the audio that he was supposed to attend a boat party but planned to cancel because his body was not looking its best. He cited a Taylor Swift concert and the outcome of his upcoming surgery as reasons for his limited availability. The jury heard him say he had not replied to any friends and was in bed, not feeling well. In a subsequent note, he apologized for sounding like he was complaining, describing himself as a “pretty positive person.”

Later that night, the date noticed Lamarre-Condon had removed his Instagram profile. The accused sent another voice note near midnight on February 21, 2024, explaining that he had shut down all social media for a mental break. He stated that one does not notice how addictive the platforms are until one is on them every second. The jury had previously viewed CCTV footage of the officer at St Vincent’s Hospital and heard testimony that he underwent minor surgery on that date. He sent a photo from his hospital bed to his date with the message, “I’m just looking forward to sleeping.”

Defence counsel John Stratton SC has argued that Baird and Davies were accidentally shot during separate struggles while Lamarre-Condon acted in self-defense. Stratton told the court that the accused cleaned the scene and disposed of the bodies because he panicked considerably. The trial is presided over by Justice Natalie Adams.