Beau Lamarre-Condon’s lawyer has told the court that his client entered the home of his former boyfriend, Jesse Baird, to retrieve jewellery—not to murder him.
In opening remarks on Tuesday, barrister John Stratton SC said Lamarre-Condon wanted to avoid the embarrassment of seeing Baird that morning.
The court heard he waited until the property was empty before entering, wearing an Uber Eats uniform so he could appear to be making a delivery if someone answered the door.
According to Mr Stratton, Baird was armed with a knife and failed to recognise Lamarre-Condon, who was wearing a motorcycle helmet and high-visibility clothing.
Lamarre-Condon had his firearm with him because his police training instructed him never to leave a gun unattended in a car, where it could be stolen, the court was told.
Mr Stratton said Baird seized the firearm during a struggle, causing it to discharge and fatally injure him.
The weapon was thrown into the living room before Lamarre-Condon moved along the hallway while calling Triple-0, the court heard.
He then encountered Luke Davies, who was Baird’s new partner.
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Lamarre-Condon seized Davies by the arm and moved the gun away from his own body. Mr Stratton said Davies then pulled the trigger and was fatally shot.
The defence barrister said Lamarre-Condon had no intention of hurting anyone in Paddington that day and was acting in self-defence.
‘After that, the accused panicked, he knew it looked bad,’ Mr Stratton said.
‘He cleaned up as much as he could and threw the knife into the yard of a house on Lawson street.’
Mr Stratton also rejected the claim that his client had broken into Baird’s home in August 2023, saying Lamarre-Condon entered using a key he had been given.
The court heard Lamarre-Condon struggled to deal with the end of the relationship and engaged in what Mr Stratton described as ‘stupid things’, including checking Baird’s phone and deleting messages.
The lawyer said Lamarre-Condon had never threatened Baird and that the relationship had not involved a pattern of escalating violence.
The trial’s first witness was due to give evidence after morning tea at 11.50am.
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