Former police officer on trial alleges use of coded language with mother after alleged murders

Beau Lamarre‑Condon, a former police officer, is on trial in the New South Wales Supreme Court for the alleged murders of television presenter Jesse Baird and Baird's partner, Luke Davies, at Baird's Paddington home on 19 February 2024. Lamar-Condon has entered a not‑guilty plea and is presenting a self‑defence argument to the jury.

During the trial, a friend of Lamar‑Condon, identified in court documents as Fiona Rosso, testified that she visited him on 22 February, three days after the killings. Rosso said Lamar‑Condon kept his phone on airplane mode and that a message from his mother, Coleen Lamar‑Condon, appeared on the screen mentioning "hot chocolate".

Rosso recounted that Lamar‑Condon told her he was coming to say "goodbye" and that he had "done something bad" but did not want to incriminate her. She said he asked her to look up Baird's name online, which returned news reports of the missing couple. Rosso also reported that Lamar‑Condon described the phrase about a search warrant at his mother's house as a "code word" for the warrant.

Both Lamar‑Condon's mother, Coleen Lamar‑Condon, and Rosso are former police officers, according to the evidence presented. After the conversation, Rosso said Lamar‑Condon left the premises and began cleaning his van. The jury has yet to reach a verdict.