‘You won’t exist’: Accused killer’s text to former TV presenter before alleged murders
Accused double murderer Beau Lamarre-Condon has denied that a text message he sent to former TV presenter Jesse Baird saying he was “completely done” with him and “you won’t exist” referred to killing him.
The former NSW police officer has pleaded not guilty to murdering Baird, 26, a former Network Ten producer and presenter, and Luke Davies, 29, a Qantas flight attendant, on February 19, 2024.
In a long message sent to Baird on November 18, 2023, two days after the former TV presenter ended their non-exclusive relationship, Lamarre-Condon said: “You don’t need to worry about seeing me out etc because you won’t exist and no further conversation needs to take place.”
A draft of the message, sent by the accused to a friend, was shown to the 15-person jury on Thursday during his cross-examination.
Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield, SC, asked Lamarre-Condon what he meant by the words “you won’t exist”.
The accused said that it was “in regards to acknowledging [him], not that I am going to harm him or kill him”.
In a message to his friend later that day, Lamarre-Condon said: “Jesse and I will never be anything after I’ve fired off those messages.
“I just hope Jesse doesn’t try and retaliate against me. Like to impact my job or anything.”
Earlier on Thursday, Lamarre-Condon admitted to disposing of Baird’s phone after his death by throwing it off Tom Uglys Bridge or another bridge “leading into Taren Point or Sylvania”.
Asked if he did so to “destroy evidence on Jesse’s phone that might incriminate you”, he said, “essentially, yes”.
Lamarre-Condon also admitted that he effectively “gaslit” Baird after posting an Instagram story on November 9, 2023, falsely suggesting the former TV presenter had sent him flowers. Lamarre-Condon said he limited the audience for the story to one person - a man Baird had been seeing.
The accused has admitted he feigned ignorance and suggested the story had an innocent explanation when Baird questioned him about it.
“Is that what you call gaslighting someone?” Hatfield said.
“Yeah, you could say that,” Lamarre-Condon replied. “I don’t deny that.” He told the court that he eventually told Baird the truth.
During hours of cross-examination on Thursday, Hatfield alleged that Lamarre-Condon’s “unrequited love [for Baird] turned into an obsession”.
“That is not the case,” the accused said.
He admitted to accessing Baird’s phone on November 15 or 16, 2023, and blocking the man Baird had been seeing and deleting messages between the pair.
The court has heard that the Instagram story and the blocking precipitated Baird breaking up with Lamarre-Condon on November 16.
Hatfield alleged that Lamarre-Condon went to Paddington two days later, on November 18, to stalk Baird.
The accused denied this and said he had bought flowers from Woolworths Balmain to apologise to him but left when he saw him with the same man.
When the prosecutor asked how much a bouquet from Woolworths would have cost and contrasted this with the $160 the accused allegedly spent to have a bouquet made by a florist to match the Instagram photo, the accused said: “Mr Crown, I’m not here to make jokes with you.”
He said it was “not a lie” and he had bought flowers from Woolworths.
The court has heard that Lamarre-Condon used a friend’s Instagram account later in November 2023 to send a message to Baird posing as her and claiming that he had cancer.
He told the court on Tuesday that aspects of the message were true.
A naturopathic doctor in Bondi Junction had told him at the end of October or early November 2023 that a lump on his shoulder appeared to be “a form of sporadic cancer” and recommended he get a biopsy at Westmead Hospital, the accused said.
“I did not follow through with the biopsy,” he said. He said he did alternative therapies that he had sourced online.
There is no dispute that Baird and Davies died of gunshot wounds from Lamarre-Condon’s police-issued Glock pistol on February 19, 2024, and that the accused disposed of their bodies on February 22, 2024.
The Crown alleges that Lamarre-Condon planned to kill Baird after developing an obsessive and jealous infatuation with him and that he killed Davies, Baird’s boyfriend, to eliminate a witness to his crime. The defence case is that Lamarre-Condon acted in self-defence after entering Baird’s home to collect some of his belongings.
He has told the court he had his gun with him because he had contemplated taking his own life the night before due to work-related trauma.
The trial continues.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491, and Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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