On Thursday, Beau Lamarre-Condon was questioned about a 1,600-word message he sent to Jesse Baird using a female friend’s Instagram account. The message claimed Lamarre-Condon had cancer and might need to have an arm amputated.
The court heard the message had been made to appear as though it was written by Lamarre-Condon’s friend.
At the time, Baird and Lamarre-Condon had separated. Baird had blocked Lamarre-Condon on Instagram and asked that they have no further contact.
The court had previously heard there was no evidence that Lamarre-Condon had cancer.
He was asked whether any part of the message’s claims about cancer was true.
Lamarre-Condon replied: ‘There are certain aspects of this message that are not true … but there are aspects to it that are true.’
Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC responded: ‘Why don’t you point out the parts of the message that are true, that might be shorter.’
Lamarre-Condon said: ‘I went to see a naturopathic doctor in November or October…’
Mr Hatfield interrupted, asking: ‘Where is that in the message? You’re pointing to the parts of the message that are true?’
Lamarre-Condon fell silent as he read through the message. He then said it referred to ‘a tumour on my left shoulder and it was growing’, adding that it was ‘a sporadic form of cancer’ and that this was what he had been told.
He said he had visited the naturopath seeking medication containing ‘traces of magic mushroom’ to treat PTSD, but had not provided his Medicare card during the appointment.
‘I then asked about a lump near my AC joint, I thought it was a cyst, but she believed it was a sporadic form of cancer and told me exactly what it was,’ he claimed.
Lamarre-Condon said the naturopath had explained that some people undergo arm amputations, but had not told him that he would necessarily need to have his arm removed.
He told the court he began treating the condition with natural plant extracts he found online.
Lamarre-Condon was also questioned about why he had asked a friend to hire a van in her name.
The former police officer is accused of hiring a van to transport the bodies of Baird and Davies to Bungonia.
He told the court he needed the van to collect furniture he intended to buy from a floor sale at Nick Scali in Newcastle.
Lamarre-Condon said he needed the furniture because he was preparing to move into a new property in Roseberry. However, he said the purchase did not proceed after defects were found in the building.
He also confirmed he had considered buying property in Bali, although he said he had only researched it online.
Lamarre-Condon told the court that profits from his swimwear business, Ivy Swim, had been invested in Bitcoin.
He said most orders were sent to influencers, but could not say how many orders the business had received. He estimated there had been more than 10, but could not confirm whether the total exceeded 100.
The former officer agreed that less than $1,000 remained in the Ivy Swimwear bank account, but maintained that he had invested the rest of the money in Bitcoin.
Mr Hatfield SC asked where the swimwear was manufactured.
Lamarre-Condon said it was made in Bali.
He also told the court he was hurt in November 2023 because he believed Baird had misled him about whether his relationships with other men were exclusive.
The court heard Lamarre-Condon wanted to be involved only in exclusive relationships.