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Law & Justice · Asia Pacific

Friend testifies Lamarre-Condon fired gun before alleged Sydney murders

A friend told the court that Beau Lamarre-Condon fired his police firearm in a park in early 2024, weeks before he was accused of killing two men in Sydney. The friend also testified that Lamarre-Condon had discussed buying a device to muffle gunfire before the park trip.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 4 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 3 of 4 outletsHow it's made

View timeline · 10 entries
4 outletsLatest reporting 3 min readNo new reporting in 4 days
Coverage: Too few ratedL 0 · C 2 · R 0 · 2 unrated
File photo
Photo: Benh LIEU SONG ( Flickr ) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

What happened

Key facts

  • A friend testified that Beau Lamarre-Condon took him to a park in early 2024 and fired his police firearm (per perthnow.com.au, The Sydney Morning Herald, ssbcrack.com).
  • The friend said Lamarre-Condon asked whether gunshots could be heard from a house (per perthnow.com.au, The Sydney Morning Herald, ssbcrack.com).
  • The friend said Lamarre-Condon told him on February 17, 2024, that he needed to retrieve his surfboard from Jesse and bought a surfboard bag (per The Sydney Morning Herald).
  • Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to murdering Jesse Baird and Luke Davies (per perthnow.com.au, ssbcrack.com).
  • The prosecution alleges that Lamarre-Condon killed Jesse Baird and Luke Davies at Baird’s home in Paddington on February 19, 2024 (per perthnow.com.au, ssbcrack.com).
  • The friend testified that Lamarre-Condon said on February 20 that he had not realised bodies would be heavy (per The Sydney Morning Herald, perthnow.com.au, ssbcrack.com).
  • The friend’s testimony included a claim that Lamarre-Condon confessed to killing two people (per ssbcrack.com, 9now.com.au, perthnow.com.au).

The brief

A friend testified that Beau Lamarre-Condon took him to a park in early 2024 and fired his police firearm, weeks before prosecutors allege Lamarre-Condon killed Jesse Baird and Luke Davies. The friend said Lamarre-Condon asked whether shots could be heard from a house. Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to murder.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the friend placed a conversation about a gun-noise device before the park trip, in about December 2023 or January 2024. He testified that Lamarre-Condon said he wanted to buy a suppressor or silencer, describing it as equipment used to muffle a gunshot.

That testimony was presented as part of the account of the alleged killings; it does not itself establish that Lamarre-Condon bought or used such a device. The reported sequence continued in the friend’s account. He said Lamarre-Condon told him on February 17, 2024, that he needed to get his surfboard back from Jesse, then bought a surfboard bag.

Prosecutors allege that Baird and Davies were killed two days later at Baird’s home in Paddington. The friend’s account, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald, connects the surfboard and bag to the days before the alleged murders, without establishing what happened to either item afterward.

The Sydney Morning Herald also reported the friend’s recollection of a dinner on February 20, the day after the alleged killings. The witness said Lamarre-Condon gestured that his legs were sore and remarked, in a joking tone, that he had not realised bodies would be heavy.

The testimony places that remark after the alleged killings; it is the witness’s account, not a finding of guilt. SSBCRack reported a separate element of the friend’s testimony: that Lamarre-Condon called seeking help to clean up a “mess,” made a “pew pew” sound while discussing the shootings, and gave instructions about disposing of bodies.

It also reported that he arrived in a hire car appearing distressed. 9Now’s headline characterized the friend’s account as a confession to killing two people. Those reports describe claims attributed to the friend, while the charge remains contested and Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty.

The evidence matters now because the trial is examining the sequence of events before and after the alleged killings, including the firearm, the discussion of a suppressor, and the witness’s recollections of later remarks. The accounts come from testimony described in coverage of the court proceedings; the allegations remain for the court to determine.

Why it matters

  • The testimony could help prosecutors establish whether the killings were planned and whether Lamarre-Condon tested how far gunfire could be heard, while the defense can challenge its meaning and reliability. Because he was a serving police officer, the case also raises questions about firearm access and safeguards for police-issued weapons—issues that may shape oversight and public confidence in New South Wales policing.

What to watch next

  • Whether the court hears further testimony about the early-2024 park trip and the alleged firearm use.
  • How the trial addresses the friend’s testimony about discussing a suppressor or silencer.
  • Whether the friend’s accounts of the February 17 surfboard conversation and February 20 dinner are examined further.
  • The court’s determination of the murder charges, to which Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
4 source articles · 4 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Too few rated· 2 Center · 2 unrated
Where the outlets are based: Asia 75% · Global 25%
Outlet political mix
Too few rated
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
2 outlets
0 outlets
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once. 2 unrated outlets are not included.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
4 unique outletsDominant coverage: Asia
Coverage imbalance
  • Coverage is currently concentrated among outlets based in Asia (3 of 4 geographically-identified sources).
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

4 framing differences · 3 uncorroborated claims · 1 information gap
The reports repeat the same account with different emphasis; its central claims are not independently confirmed in the reporting Updat3 read.Compared across 3 reports whose article text Updat3 read; 1 other outlet was checked by headline only.
Framing / emphasis differences
Sources emphasise different angles, actors or consequences of the same reporting.
  • PerthNow foregrounds the friend’s account of gunfire in a park and the question about whether shots could be heard from a house.
  • The Sydney Morning Herald adds testimony about a proposed suppressor, a surfboard bag, and a February 20 remark.
  • SSBCRack emphasizes alleged post-event statements, including a request for help cleaning up a “mess”; 9Now’s headline calls the account a confession.
  • The reports describe testimony and allegations, but Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty; the court has not established guilt in the supplied coverage.
Updat3: These are differences of emphasis, not disputes about what is reported. They do not show that the reported claims are true.
One-sided or uncorroborated claims
Claims that come from one party or one source family and are not independently corroborated.
  • SSBCRack reports the friend’s account as including a confession claim, while 9Now’s headline independently characterizes the friend’s account as a confession; these remain attributed claims, not an established finding.
  • The Sydney Morning Herald reports the friend’s recollection that Lamarre-Condon said he had not realised bodies would be heavy.
  • SSBCRack reports that the friend described Lamarre-Condon asking for help to clean up a “mess.”
Updat3: Not independently corroborated yet — treat as a claim, not an established fact.
Not established by the reporting
Information the available reporting does not contain or confirm. This is a gap, not a disagreement.
  • The supplied coverage does not describe the full evidence presented at trial or the prosecution’s complete case.
Updat3: Updat3 cannot conclude anything about this from the current sources.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. New South Wales enacted the Crimes Act 1900, which defines murder as a criminal offence.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. New South Wales enacted the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 to govern criminal proceedings in the state.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. The Firearms Act 1996 (NSW), enacted in 1996, regulates firearms and their possession in New South Wales.
    Background · from our historical context
  4. A friend testified that Beau Lamarre-Condon took him to a park in early 2024 and fired his police firearm.
    Reported in this story's sourcesSource:The Sydney Morning Herald
  5. The case also followed a sequence of events in February 2024 that became part of the prosecution’s account of what happened before and after the deaths.
    Background · from our historical context
  6. The February 2024 investigation and subsequent prosecution therefore took place under legal regimes that predated the alleged killings by decades.
    Background · from our historical context
  7. Police began a missing-person investigation after Baird and Davies could not be located.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  8. On February 19, 2024, Jesse Baird and Luke Davies were killed at Baird’s home in Paddington, according to the prosecution’s case.
    Background · from our historical context
  9. Police arrested Lamarre-Condon and charged him with the murders.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  10. Police located the men’s bodies at a rural property near Bungonia on February 27, 2024.
    Background · from our historical context

How we got here

On February 19, 2024, Jesse Baird and Luke Davies were killed at Baird’s home in Paddington, according to the prosecution’s case. Beau Lamarre-Condon, then a serving New South Wales police officer, was arrested on February 23 and charged with their murders. Police located the men’s bodies at a rural property near Bungonia on February 27, 2024.

Those events formed the basis of the criminal case that later proceeded to trial; Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty. The Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) defines murder as a criminal offence, while the Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW) governs criminal proceedings in the state. The Firearms Act 1996 (NSW), enacted in 1996, regulates firearms and their possession in New South Wales.

Related developments1 story

Original sources

3 of 4 articles · Asia · Show all

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