Beau Lamarre‑Condon has denied being “obsessed” with Jesse Baird from the outset of their relationship, telling the court he would have liked the TV presenter even if he worked “as a garbage cleaner”.
The former police officer is accused of fatally shooting Baird and his new partner, Luke Davies, with his service weapon at Baird’s Paddington home in Sydney on 19 February 2024.
He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter.
On the fourth day of testimony, Lamarre‑Condon sat in the witness box and faced intense questioning from Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC regarding his relationship with Baird.
The former officer told the NSW Supreme Court that he met Baird in October and November 2022 for sexual encounters, followed by romantic dates that began in December of that year.
During cross‑examination on Tuesday, Hatfield asked Lamarre‑Condon, “Were you obsessed with him from the very beginning?”
Lamarre‑Condon denied this, telling the jury, “I never cared about showing Jesse off. I wanted Jesse to meet my friends because I believed he was genuine.”
“Jesse Baird could have been a garbage cleaner… I liked Jesse for who he was as a person,” Lamarre‑Condon said.
When Hatfield asked whether Lamarre‑Condon was “obsessed” with Baird in February and March 2023, the accused replied, “I don’t agree with ‘obsessed’. Smitten? Yes. Obsessed? No.”
Hatfield referenced messages between Lamarre‑Condon and his friends sent around the time the pair began dating, in which the officer said, “it sounds crazy, I love him.”
Lamarre‑Condon replied, “I say ‘I love you’ to all my friends and to people like that all the time.”
“That’s different from saying I’m ‘in’ love with him,” he said.
When asked if he was insecure about the relationship and whether Baird liked him, Lamarre‑Condon said his response was “natural” and sometimes occurred when the TV presenter did not reply to his messages immediately.
“I would always joke [with my friends], ‘we’re white‑girl crazy,’” Lamarre‑Condon told the jury.
“It means we should stop overthinking and second‑guessing ourselves,” he added.
He told the court he would make jokes and engage in “banter” with his female friends, not his heterosexual male friends, exchanging playful remarks such as “you’re a crazy bitch.”
Hatfield displayed screenshots of text messages between Baird and Lamarre‑Condon and asked why Baird’s profile photo appeared low‑resolution.
“If you’re trying to insinuate any of these are not genuine… we’ve got videos,” the officer said, explaining that Baird’s photo was a screenshot from a video he had taken of the presenter.
The trial before Justice Natalie Adams continues.
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