November 5, 2026 — 5:52pm
Accused killer Beau Lamarre-Condon has denied watching former TV presenter Jesse Baird through his window “like a little creep” but admitted he saw him having sex and later went through his phone and left a bobby pin in his front door lock.
The former NSW police officer started giving evidence on Thursday in his Supreme Court double murder trial in Sydney and gave at times emotional testimony about alleged homophobia in the force and the effect of work-related trauma on his mental health.
The 31-year-old has pleaded not guilty to murdering Baird, 26, a former Network Ten producer and presenter, and Luke Davies, 29, a Qantas flight attendant, in Paddington on February 19, 2024.
He denied claims in court by a former friend, dubbed Elizabeth Kennedy in the proceedings, that he sent her a photo on the encrypted messaging app Signal of Baird apparently in bed with another man.
Lamarre-Condon said he and Baird had a “very, very civil” breakup on April 17, 2023, after meeting in October 2022, when the TV presenter said he was not ready for a relationship with anyone.
He said he had read Baird’s Instagram messages with another man days earlier, when Baird gave him access to his phone to edit a video. He sent a photo of Baird’s messages to “multiple friends asking for advice”, he told the court.
The accused said he visited Baird’s home one night after April 21 to collect some of his belongings, and “Jesse’s bedroom light was on, and he has sheer curtains so you can completely see through”.
“I thought I would just knock on his window … to get his attention,” he said. “I saw Jesse having sex with a male.
“I kind of froze in a bit of a shock, and I maybe stood there for like five seconds. I did not stay and watch like a little creep.”
He said he did not take a photo and “I actually laughed about it with friends” because “we were no longer together, there was no reason to be angry or mad about it”.
Lamarre-Condon told the court he had met Baird in October 2022 at the Universal nightclub on Oxford Street. Their relationship started as “friends with a sexual relationship”, he said, but by December they had started going on “romantic dates” including to the movies and dinner.
“Jesse was very much like me; he was very outgoing and into doing sporting activities,” he said.
Lamarre-Condon was asked by his barrister, John Stratton, SC, about CCTV footage the court has heard was found on his iCloud account after his arrest.
The footage from the Royal Hotel in Paddington on May 19, 2023, shows Baird was on a date with another man, the court has heard. The accused said he came across the footage while helping police colleagues with official duties, following an alleged assault nearby.
Baird had invited him to “swing by” the hotel that evening, Lamarre-Condon said, and the CCTV snippet was “filmed by me on my phone”. He said the actual footage requested by police did not depict Baird.
“I didn’t save that footage to my phone or my computer,” Lamarre-Condon said. He said it “got onto my phone through WhatsApp,” automatically saving it.
“I actually sent this to Jesse,” he said. He testified that he said something like: “I came to see you. You weren’t here, but Detective Beau’s on the case. Spotted you. It was like joking banter.”
Lamarre-Condon said his relationship with Baird resumed after the April breakup, “just after my birthday dinner” in June 2023. The court has heard evidence from other witnesses that Baird regarded their relationship at all times as casual rather than exclusive.
The accused has pleaded not guilty to a separate charge of breaking into Baird’s home on August 17, 2023, and stealing his wallet and mobile phone. He told the court on Thursday that Baird had invited him over that night “and said he would leave the key out in the letterbox if I chose to come over”.
Lamarre-Condon said he arrived “after 10pm”, used the key to let himself in, but put a bobby pin in the lock.
“I wanted to see if Jesse was in a relationship [with another man] or not,” he said. “My mindset at the time was if Jesse was asleep, I could check his phone without him knowing across the road.
“If he was to wake up and come outside, he would see the bobby pin [and] not be under the impression that it was me going through his phone.”
Baird did wake up and “gave chase” without knowing who it was, he said. “It was stupid, and I admit that it was stupid,” he said.
The court has heard that Baird broke up with Lamarre-Condon permanently in November 2023. Lamarre-Condon told the court he eventually admitted to Baird that month that he had posted an image of flowers on Instagram to “insinuate” that they were from Baird.
He said he initially “denied, denied, denied” but “10 hours after denying it I came clean” in a voice note. He said he also admitted he went through Baird’s phone around November 15 or 16 and blocked a man he believed Baird had been dating and deleted their messages.
“I felt bad that I originally lied to Jesse,” he said.
He said the intention of the Instagram post, which could be viewed by the other man, was to see if that man would “message me, picking up on, ‘well, I’m also dating Jesse’”.
“That’s how I kind of wanted my answer without directly asking Jesse or [the man].”
The trial continues.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491.
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Source: The Age · Michaela Whitbourn, Perry Duffin
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