Former policeman denies ‘savage rejection’ claim in murder trial

Beau Lamarre-Condon, 31, continued his not-guilty plea for the murders of journalist Jesse Baird and Luke Davies during a hearing in the New South Wales Supreme Court. Prosecutors maintain that he entered Baird’s Paddington residence on August 17, 2023, to search the presenter’s phone after a perceived rejection.

The former police officer told the court that Baird had invited him over and left a key, and that he only intended to look at the phone before Baird awoke. Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC presented text messages from August 15-17, suggesting Lamarre-Condon had arranged a meeting that Baird declined.

"It was deliberately false, and you were trying to say you’d been invited over by Mr Baird on the 17th of August, the day you went to his house," Hatfield said.

Lamarre-Condon denied the allegation, stating, "No, I disagree," and later asserting that the exchange was not a “savage” rejection.

"That’s not how I interpreted it," Lamarre-Condon replied when asked about the alleged rejection.

He also acknowledged that he had placed his phone in airplane mode around 11 p.m. on August 17 but said it was for a purpose unrelated to the alleged offence.

"That is not correct, I did for a different purpose," he told Hatfield.

Justice Natalie Adams sent the jury home mid-day, citing an unexpected issue, and scheduled Lamarre-Condon to resume testimony the following morning.