Jury Hears Recording of Officer Discussing Evidence With Visitor

A recording made inside a Sydney prison cell was played to a jury this week, capturing an accused police officer disputing evidence his friend gave to investigators about a double murder case.

Beau Lamarre-Condon, 31, is charged with two counts of murder and one count of aggravated break and enter. Prosecutors allege he shot Jesse Baird and Luke Davies with his service weapon at Baird's Paddington home on 19 February 2024. He has pleaded not guilty. The New South Wales Supreme Court heard that a friend, whose identity is suppressed, recorded a December 2025 prison visit at the request of police. The audio played to the jury opens with Lamarre-Condon asking his visitor to turn around to prove he was not wearing a wire.

The friend testified on Friday that Lamarre-Condon had earlier described killing the two men as an out-of-body experience, then suggested he was joking. The friend returned to the stand Monday as the recording was played. In it, the friend says Lamarre-Condon put him in a difficult position. Lamarre-Condon responds, "I fully take accountability that you're involved because of me now." The friend also says he was upset after Lamarre-Condon called him dumb. Lamarre-Condon replies, "You're not dumb OK," adding, "You're not self aware in the way that I am."

The conversation turns to what the friend told investigators. Lamarre-Condon accuses him of getting details wrong, saying he did not kill Davies to remove a witness and that he acted in self-defense instead. The friend answers, "Don't you dare switch up." Lamarre-Condon then addresses the break and enter charge, saying Baird had cut a key for him and that entering the terrace amounted to trespass, not a break-in. He says he walked in and called out hello rather than knock because he wanted to avoid an apprehended violence order.

Lamarre-Condon tells the friend in the recording that he would have been prepared if he had planned the killings, saying he would have had cleaning supplies ready and would not have used a police firearm. "I can get [another gun] for $10,000, I could have done all these things," he says. He also describes taking his friend to Royal National Park before the February 2024 shootings to test how loud his gun was, saying he intended to return there to take his own life. He tells the friend he had been experiencing suicidality from trauma at work. The friend can be heard threatening to leave the conversation several times, saying at one point, "What you're telling me mightn't be the truth." 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 suicide helplines can be found at befrienders.org.