Lamarre-Condon tells court he checked whether Baird was responsive
After Davies was shot, Lamarre-Condon says he tried to check on Baird and began having a panic attack:
I remember walking back over towards Jesse and trying to get him to get up by shouting: ‘Jesse please get up please, don’t you dare, please get up’.
The court resumes
Lamarre-Condon is continuing to give evidence as the court returns from a morning break.
Court briefly adjourns
The court has adjourned for a morning tea break. The trial is expected resume before midday.
‘It got Luke’: Lamarre-Condon tells court about moment Davies was shot
The former officer said police are trained to redirect gun muzzles when firearms are pointed at him.
I saw the gun, he was holding it with both hands I thought fuck he’s going to fire the gun and that’s where my police training kicked in …
My left hand would have grabbed Luke’s left wrist and turned it away … my other hand pushed against the foreman and then I pushed the pivot point of the left wrist away from me.
Asked by the defence lawyer whether the gun went off, Lamarre-Condon says:
Yes, during this motion. And it got Luke.
Updated
Lamarre-Condon claims he told Davies ‘I’m not here to hurt you’
He tells the court that as he dialled the emergency hotline to try get help for Baird, Lamarre-Condon looked up and saw Luke Davies, who he didn’t recognise at the time.
The accused claims Davies had picked up his gun:
“It was pointed towards me at my chest and he said ‘I’m going to fucking shoot you’,” he tells the court.
I had both my hands up in the air and was calling triple zero …
I started lowering my body towards the ground: I said, ‘Please don’t shoot me I’m not here to shoot you.’
I’m not a threat I’m not here to hurt you, that’s when he raised the gun towards my head and that’s when he said ‘Fuck off’.”
Updated
‘It was my fault’: Lamarre-Condon says he shot Baird
Lamarre-Condon tells the court he aimed for Baird’s right shoulder and discharged the firearm.
The two continued to struggle but the officer’s finger remained on the trigger, the jury heard.
They tripped over a storage box on the ground, which is when Lamarre-Condon “accidentally” discharged the gun, he tells the court:
It was my fault … I am guilty of manslaughter … But it wasn’t intentional.
I must be truthful and I must take responsibility that I’m responsible for his death but it wasn’t intentional.
Updated
Lamarre-Condon says Baird had ‘too much adrenaline’ and lunged at him with the knife
As police officers we are trained to shoot people at the centre of body mass … I had a split-second moment where I said drop the knife … It was just police mode now.
If I didn’t do that I was 110% going to have that knife driven into my throat.
And Jesse Baird was going to be sitting in my position today.
Updated
Lamarre-Condon tells court he saw Baird with knife and tape sealing storage boxes
Lamarre-Condon says he was still wearing the motorcycle helmet when Baird saw him.
He started yelling we’re getting robbed, we’re getting robbed … He couldn’t see it was me because the visor was down.
Updated
Lamarre-Condon tells court he was looking for his belongings
The accused claims Baird’s room was empty when he entered the home.
He tells the court he looked through some storage boxes in the bedroom in search of his clothes but couldn’t find them.
Lamarre-Condon ‘had an idea’ to dress up as an UberEats rider
Lamarre-Condon tells the court he had seen what he assumed to be someone’s delivery motorcycle:
As soon as I saw that I had an idea … I saw a hi-vis hooded jacket, waterproof long pants and gloves.
This moment here … I wish that I didn’t do this … But I had the thought process that if I was to put on this helmet and outfit I could knock on Jesse’s door I would look like an UberEats driver without any verbal interaction with Jesse.
And if he wasn’t home I could get the spare key and get my belongings.
Updated
Lamarre-Condon wanted to avoid Baird
Lamarre-Condon says he did not want to come into contact with Baird due to a risk the other man could take out an apprehended violence order against him as Baird had asked him to “please refrain from contacting me”.
At the very least I would have had an AVO out against me … police don’t hesitate to put another police on an AVO … I was worried if I knocked on the door it would be perceived as harassment.
Updated
‘It was going to be a normal day’: Lamarre-Condon tells court about day of alleged murders
The officer says he wanted to retrieve his surfboard, clothes and Cartier ring from Baird’s home on the day of the alleged murders.
It was going to be a normal day.
He took his mothers’ car because he did not want to be recognised and began driving up and down Baird’s street to look for his ute, the jury heard.
Lamarre-Condon then parked the car in the spot left by Baird’s housemate.
I saw her leave, I didn’t want to enter that house if anyone was home.
Updated
‘It’s time to leave the police force’: Lamarre-Condon says he talked to his mother
Lamarre-Condon and his mother drove to Hertz to pick up a hire car as her vehicle had begun leaking and was dropped at a mechanic, he tells the jury.
The two had picked up the car the day before the alleged murders, and had a conversation. Lamarre-Condon’s voice begins to waver as he tells the court:
I put my phone on airplane mode, which I normally do when having private conversations. My mum could tell something wasn’t right.
I had told her that I just essentially wasn’t feeling OK because of work.
My mum understands this because she was a police officer. She’s been through similar experiences.
The conversation in the car on the way was just not feeling OK and she was just trying to tell me it was time to leave the police force.
Updated
‘I’ve been surfing on and off’: Lamarre-Condon tells court about buying board covers
The former officer has been surfing since he was a child and his surfboard was 6ft 2in, Lamarre-Condon tells the supreme court jury.
I’ve been surfing on and off since I was 13.
Lamarre-Condon says he purchased a surfboard cover on 17 February 2024 after throwing out an old one that had tears and rips.
He tells the court he needed to retrieve his surfboard from Baird’s home and did not want to damage it in transport.
Court hears Lamarre-Condon signed out his firearm for a shift three days before alleged murders
Lamarre-Condon tells the jury he signed out his firearm for a shift on 16 February 2024, three days before the alleged murders.
He had permission to do this, he told the court, and on the way to work had stopped at East Village in Zetland to get his car washed.
The former officer claimed in court that it was common for police to get coffee or stop off elsewhere on the way to work.
He says he was thinking of stopping at Paddington to get his belongings from Baird before the other man got home from work, which would have put him in the “exact same” position he was in today as his firearm was still in his backpack.
Updated
Lamarre-Condon says he shot his gun in the Royal national park to test the volume
Lamarre-Condon tells the jury about an occasion when he went to the Royal national park with a friend and shot his gun.
At this time he was thinking of taking his own life, and he wanted to test how loud his gun was, he told the jury.
He says he fired it at a tree:
I was very aware of making sure the bullet didn’t hit any innocent person.
Police normally wear eye protection when firing their gun, Lamarre-Condon told the court, so when particulate entered his eyes from the shot, he said: “Shit there’s stuff in my eyes” and began rubbing it.
He then retrieved a brown paper bag and put it over the firearm before firing a second shot, he told the jury.
A little paper bag like that would never change the sound of a gun shot.
In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14
Updated
Lamarre-Condon tells court his relationship with Baird was not exclusive
The former officer has told the court he and Jesse were “doing things that couples were doing”, including getting dinners and spending time together.
We were not exclusive. I was still seeing people at various points throughout my time with Jesse.
Lamarre-Condon returns to the witness box
The former police officer has taken the witness box as he resumes giving evidence.
The 15-person jury has re-entered the court.
Updated
Welcome
Welcome to Guardian Australia’s continuing coverage of the Beau Lamarre-Condon trial.
Lamarre-Condon started giving evidence yesterday and this morning returns to the witness box in his double murder trial in the New South Wales supreme court.
The 31-year-old has pleaded not guilty to murdering Jesse Baird and Luke Davies with his police service weapon in Baird’s Paddington home on 19 February 2024.
He has denied two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter.
You can catch up with all of yesterday’s evidence before the jury in this story:
The trial before Justice Natalie Adams continues.
