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Inside the trial of Beau Lamarre-Condon · The Morning Edition

0:05
S1: You might remember this case from Sydney a couple of
0:07
S1: years ago. The alleged murders of a TV presenter, Jesse
0:10
S1: Baird and his boyfriend, Luke Davies. Baird had been a
0:13
S1: presenter on a kids show called Totally Wild and on
0:16
S1: another program, studio ten, while Davies had been a flight
0:20
S1: attendant with Qantas. Now, a jury trial in the New
0:24
S1: South Wales Supreme Court has begun, and we're finding out
0:26
S1: a lot more about the allegations against the man who
0:29
S1: has pleaded not guilty to their murders. Former New South
0:32
S1: Wales Police officer Bo Lamar Condon. I'm Tammy Mills and
0:37
S1: I'm filling in for our regular host, Samantha Salinger Morris,
0:40
S1: and this is The Morning Edition. Today's guest is Sydney
0:44
S1: Morning Herald legal affairs reporter Michaela Whitbourn. Michaela, thanks for
0:52
S1: speaking to us today.
0:53
S2: Pleasure to be here.
0:54
S1: First up, Michaela, can you remind us what happened in 2024?
0:57
S1: It was February. It was summer in Sydney. Mardi Gras
1:01
S1: was about to begin. So perhaps take us back there
1:03
S1: and a little bit about the victims in this case.
1:05
S2: Yeah. That's right. So early 2024, Jesse Baird, 26, and
1:11
S2: Luke Davies, 29, are in the early stages of a relationship,
1:15
S2: but the court has heard that it had already turned serious.
1:17
S2: They had announced themselves publicly as a couple, and we've
1:20
S2: heard evidence in court that they were smitten with each other,
1:23
S2: and this was a serious relationship. Now, in the background
1:26
S2: to this, Jesse Baird had had a relationship that he
1:29
S2: regarded as casual in the past with Bo Lamar Condon.
1:33
S2: It had started in late 2022, and Baird had ended
1:37
S2: it for the first time in April 2023. And then
1:41
S2: they resumed their relationship for a short time before bed
1:44
S2: ended it definitively in November 2023.
1:48
S1: And tell us what the jury has heard so far
1:50
S1: about how they knew the accused in this matter, Bo
1:52
S1: Lamar Condon. He was a police officer at the time,
1:55
S1: I think a senior constable. Is that right?
1:57
S2: Yes, that's right. He was a senior constable and he
1:59
S2: was working in a role that required him to engage
2:02
S2: with youth. So he wasn't in a role that required
2:05
S2: him to investigate crime as such.
2:07
S1: And what do prosecutors say about what happened on the
2:11
S1: day of the alleged murders?
2:13
S2: Prosecutors allege that Bo Lamar Condon planned to kill Jesse
2:17
S2: Baird after developing an obsessive and jealous infatuation with him,
2:22
S2: and that he started that planning in January 2024. And
2:26
S2: it culminated in him planning on the morning of February 19th, 2024,
2:33
S2: to drive to Jesse Baird's Paddington's share house, where he
2:37
S2: waited for a number of hours in the early hours
2:40
S2: of the morning. Observing the terrace on the Crown case.
2:43
S2: He is seen on the Crown case in footage CCTV
2:47
S2: footage from Baird Street, dressed as an Uber Eats rider,
2:51
S2: including a high visibility top and a motorcycle helmet. The
2:55
S2: Crown says that he waits in that position for about
2:57
S2: 20 minutes. They say that he's steeling himself for what
3:01
S2: he's about to do. They allege that he had his
3:04
S2: police weapon a pistol with him, and that he entered
3:08
S2: this home shortly after, or in fact, sometime close to
3:13
S2: 10 a.m.. And he encounters Jesse Baird almost immediately. They
3:19
S2: say that he shot Jesse Baird twice with his police weapon,
3:23
S2: including one shot through his temple that they described as
3:26
S2: an execution style shot before. He also encounters Luke Davies
3:32
S2: in the home, who is calling 000 for help and
3:36
S2: shoots him through the door of the bedroom of the home.
3:39
S2: They argue to eliminate a witness to the crime. So
3:44
S2: their case is that the murder of Jesse Baird was
3:47
S2: premeditated and was the culmination of his obsessive infatuation with
3:52
S2: Jesse Baird and the murder of Luke Davies. His new
3:55
S2: boyfriend was spontaneous and a bid to eliminate a witness
3:59
S2: to the crime.
4:00
S1: And there was quite, I guess, a shocking moment, you
4:03
S1: could say in court this week, because there was some
4:06
S1: CCTV that was played to the jury. Can you tell
4:10
S1: us a little bit about that?
4:12
S2: Yes. Uh, so there was a moment in the Crown's
4:14
S2: opening address to the jury where they were played a
4:17
S2: small amount of audio. This is CCTV footage from a
4:21
S2: neighbouring residence. And three gunshots in rather close succession are
4:26
S2: heard in that footage. The first two, they allege, coincide
4:30
S2: with the death of Jesse Baird, and the third shot
4:33
S2: is the death of Luke Davies.
4:36
S1: And just to pause there, Lamar Condon has, as you've said,
4:40
S1: pleaded not guilty to the murders. And one would think
4:43
S1: potentially he would argue that maybe he wasn't there, maybe
4:46
S1: he didn't do it. But that's not the case. Can
4:48
S1: you tell us a little bit more about what his
4:51
S1: defence lawyers say his involvement was in this crime?
4:55
S2: Yes. So the defence says that there is no argument
4:58
S2: that Bolumar Condon was there on the morning in question.
5:02
S2: In fact, there's also no dispute that he was wearing
5:05
S2: a disguise. The defence case is that the reason for
5:08
S2: this is that Bolormaa Khandan wanted to collect some of
5:12
S2: his things from Jesse Bear's home after their break up.
5:15
S2: He didn't want to go through the embarrassment of seeing
5:17
S2: Jessie again. He chose a time when he thought no
5:21
S2: one was there after observing the home, but he was
5:23
S2: dressed in this disguise on the chance that he ran
5:27
S2: into anyone. They say that he knocked on the door,
5:30
S2: and when he didn't receive any response to that, he
5:33
S2: entered the home and was surprised by Jesse Baird inside
5:36
S2: the residence. Jesse Baird, they say, understandably, was not sure
5:41
S2: who this was because he was still wearing the motorcycle helmet,
5:44
S2: and a struggle ensued during which Bolormaa Condon's gun went
5:49
S2: off twice, fatally wounding Jesse Baird. They say what happened
5:54
S2: next is that he encountered a second man, now known
5:58
S2: to be Luke Davies, in the hallway of the home
6:01
S2: as he was trying to leave. They say what happened
6:03
S2: then is that Luke Davies had the gun at this point,
6:07
S2: and he'd also had a knife at one stage, and
6:10
S2: that they had a struggle and that Luke Davies shot himself.
6:15
S1: But why would have Lamar Condon gone there with his
6:20
S1: police issued gun? Have there been any evidence heard in
6:24
S1: court this week about that?
6:25
S2: There's been no evidence. But what the defense says in
6:28
S2: its opening address, or what the defense said in its
6:32
S2: opening address, was that Lamar Condon had his weapon with
6:36
S2: him because he's a police officer and he's training, suggested
6:40
S2: that his weapon shouldn't be left in his car. So
6:43
S2: he had it with him because there was a risk
6:46
S2: that he had left it in the vehicle. You know,
6:48
S2: it might have been stolen. Now, the Crown says that
6:52
S2: Condon should not have had his weapon with him because
6:54
S2: he was not rostered to work that day or the
6:56
S2: next day.
6:57
S1: So it seems like the main point of difference here
7:00
S1: in this case is that Lamar Condon saying that Baird
7:03
S1: and Davies were killed by accident, and the prosecutors say
7:07
S1: it was premeditated in the case of Baird, while Davies
7:10
S1: was killed because he witnessed the crime. Is that correct?
7:13
S2: Yes. That's right. And there is also some dispute about
7:16
S2: who placed a call to 000 after the first shots.
7:20
S2: The Crown says that the voice on the call was
7:23
S2: that of Luke Davies. And the defence says that both
7:26
S2: Lamar Condon actually tried to call 000 using a phone
7:30
S2: in the home.
7:35
S1: After the break.
7:37
S2: Bowler Mike Condon was hurt when it ended. They say
7:41
S2: that there's no dispute that he did some stupid things,
7:44
S2: and that includes going through Jesse Baird's phone and deleting mail,
7:49
S2: contacts as well as text messages.
7:59
S1: And what about what occurred afterwards? As the jury has
8:02
S1: heard this week that a cover up occurred? What's uncontested
8:05
S1: in relation to this?
8:07
S2: The defence agrees that both Lamar Condon did dispose of
8:10
S2: the bodies. They say that this is consistent with him panicking,
8:14
S2: realizing the gravity of the situation and how it might
8:18
S2: look for him as a police officer to have been
8:20
S2: involved in this incident. But they say it was very
8:23
S2: much an accident and he did not intend to harm anyone.
8:26
S2: So what is not contested is that he put the
8:29
S2: bodies in surfboard bags. He initially tried to submerge them
8:32
S2: in a dam in Bungonia, near Goulburn. That didn't work,
8:36
S2: and he later left the bodies near the fence line
8:39
S2: of a Greek monastery nearby. That is also the Crown
8:42
S2: case that that is what happened with the bodies and
8:44
S2: that is where they were found.
8:46
S1: But what did the Crown say or the prosecutors? What
8:49
S1: do they say in relation to this conduct after the event?
8:52
S1: Because they tell quite a different story.
8:55
S2: Yes. They say it's consistent with this murder of Jesse
8:58
S2: Baird being premeditated, and obviously, the subsequent murder of Luke
9:03
S2: Davies being a response to the situation and an attempt
9:07
S2: to remove a witness. And they say that everything that
9:10
S2: followed was a cover up of the commission of the crime.
9:13
S1: And what about there's also a bit of evidence or
9:16
S1: information that has been given to the jury this week,
9:19
S1: which I found quite confronting, and that is around what
9:23
S1: had happened with the bodies of Jesse Baird and Luke
9:26
S1: Davies after the alleged crime occurred, because the court has
9:31
S1: heard that it wasn't as if Lamar Condon has moved
9:33
S1: them straight away, and housemates of Jesse Baird had become
9:37
S1: aware of something unusual in the house. Is that right?
9:40
S2: Yes. So we haven't heard any evidence to this effect yet.
9:43
S2: But what the Crown foreshadowed in their opening address was
9:47
S2: that housemates of Jesse Baird had in fact, seen unknowingly
9:52
S2: the bodies of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies in the
9:56
S2: home in surfboard bags, and that there was some sort
10:00
S2: of substance leaking from those bags that one of the
10:03
S2: housemates thought could have been rust, and that was, in fact,
10:08
S2: blood on the Crown case. But we have yet to
10:10
S2: hear any of that evidence yet in the trial.
10:13
S1: And was it there a friend that Lamar Condon had
10:16
S1: called to help him after the crime occurred. What's the
10:19
S1: jury been told about this?
10:21
S2: The Crown has said that there will be evidence that
10:24
S2: Bolumar Condon did call a friend in the aftermath of
10:27
S2: the alleged murders, and told him that he had something
10:31
S2: serious to tell him, and told him in person that
10:33
S2: he'd killed two people and apparently also made the sound
10:38
S2: of a gun and put his fingers in there, you know,
10:40
S2: a gesture indicating a gun. This friend is anticipated to
10:45
S2: tell the court that Bolumar Condon asked him to help
10:49
S2: dispose of the bodies, and that he refused to do so,
10:52
S2: but that later the accused suggested that he'd just been
10:55
S2: joking and that he wasn't being serious in his account
10:59
S2: of the alleged murders.
11:01
S1: And also Michaela, the friends and family of Jesse Baird
11:04
S1: and Luke Davies have all been in court this week.
11:06
S1: Can you tell us more about what that's been like
11:08
S1: and some of the emotions that you've witnessed, and what
11:12
S1: type of evidence they've been giving to the jury?
11:14
S2: Yes. So friends and family have been in the courtroom
11:17
S2: and a number of family members of Jesse Baird have
11:21
S2: given evidence in the proceedings already. So Jesse Baird's mum, Helen,
11:25
S2: gave at times emotional evidence that she had a close
11:28
S2: relationship with her son and that he had mentioned to
11:32
S2: her this relationship that he'd had with Bo Lamar Condon,
11:36
S2: and that he had become concerned that he was perhaps
11:39
S2: engaging in obsessive behaviour.
11:42
S1: And so what's the trial heard this week about the
11:44
S1: nature of the relationship between Jesse Baird and Bo Lamar Condon,
11:48
S1: and these allegations that Lamar Condon was obsessed with Jesse Baird?
11:54
S2: Yes. So we're getting into the early stages of the
11:56
S2: evidence now in court on Wednesday. The jury heard that
12:02
S2: Jesse Baird made a statement to police on the 17th
12:05
S2: of August, 2023, after he alleged he woke up close
12:10
S2: to midnight that day and saw a man standing over
12:14
S2: him when he was in bed and that the man
12:16
S2: appeared to be holding his mobile phone, and he chased
12:19
S2: this person out of his home lost him, but realized
12:23
S2: when he arrived back at his home that his mobile
12:27
S2: phone and wallet was missing. We also heard evidence from
12:30
S2: a police officer that a Bobby pin was found in
12:34
S2: the front door of the home when they conducted an investigation. Now,
12:38
S2: Bolama Condon has pleaded not guilty to aggravated break in
12:42
S2: enter over that incident. And the defense said in its
12:45
S2: opening to the jury on Tuesday that Lamar Condon had
12:50
S2: a key to Jessie Baird's home and had used it.
12:54
S2: We've heard evidence from some of Jessie Baird's friends, including
12:58
S2: his former long term boyfriend, that Jessie Baird had told
13:01
S2: him that he had been stalked by a Bolama Condon
13:05
S2: and that he was petrified in the months before his death,
13:09
S2: and that he kept saying on this friend's account that
13:12
S2: Bo Lamar Condon has a gun.
13:15
S1: And what about Lamar Condon? What has his lawyers told
13:18
S1: the court about the nature of the relationship and the
13:21
S1: relationship break down. And and these allegations from prosecutors that
13:26
S1: that he had become I think the word was obsessed
13:29
S1: with Jesse Baird.
13:31
S2: Yes. So the defense case is that the pair were
13:33
S2: in a relationship and that Bolama condom was hurt when
13:37
S2: it ended. They say that there's no dispute that he
13:40
S2: did some stupid things. And that includes going through Jesse
13:44
S2: Baird's phone and deleting mail contacts as well as text messages.
13:49
S2: So there's no dispute on that front, but there is
13:52
S2: a great deal of dispute that he ever intended to
13:55
S2: hurt anyone, and that this murder and the subsequent killing
13:58
S2: of Luke Davies was intended.
14:01
S1: And finally, Michaela, what happens from here? How long is
14:04
S1: the trial expected to run for?
14:06
S2: Justice Natalie Adams has told the jury of 15 that
14:09
S2: the trial may run for up to 12 weeks, bringing
14:12
S2: us close to Christmas, and she'll be keeping an eye
14:15
S2: on that timeline to ensure that that is the case.
14:22
S1: Oh, thank you so much, Michaela, for your time.
14:24
S2: Pleasure.
14:39
S1: In other news, today, half of Australians in their 20s
14:42
S1: are still living with their parents, and a record share
14:44
S1: of families are in housing stress. As the social and
14:48
S1: economic costs of the housing affordability crunch grows. And Qantas
14:52
S1: has announced its direct flights to New York will begin
14:55
S1: from Sydney in mid 2028, connecting Australia and the east
14:59
S1: coast of the US with non-stop air travel for the
15:02
S1: first time. You can read more at the age or smh.com.au.
15:08
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