Sydney jury hears prison tape where accused says he would have paid $10,000 for a different gun
The recording, captured during a December 2025 visit, contains Lamarre-Condon's account of the February 2024 Paddington shooting and his defense against the break and enter charge.
By Kaito Sokolov ·
A covert recording captured during a prison visit has been played to a Sydney jury, revealing that the murder accused discussed the cost of an alternative firearm in a hypothetical planning scenario. Beau Lamarre-Condon, 31, told his friend he would have secured a different gun for $10,000 if he had planned the shooting. The audio was presented to the New South Wales Supreme Court on Monday.
Lamarre-Condon is accused of fatally shooting Jesse Baird and Luke Davies with a police service weapon at Baird’s home in Paddington on 19 February 2024. He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter. The friend, whose identity is suppressed, first testified on Friday before returning to the stand on Monday to present the audio evidence.
The conversation, recorded in December 2025, began with Lamarre-Condon asking his friend to turn around to confirm he was not wearing a wire. The friend replied, "You're so paranoid," and told him to calm down. Lamarre-Condon stated that he "fully take[s] accountability" for his friend's involvement. He described the act of killing the two men as an "out-of-body experience," though he later attempted to dismiss the statement as a joke.
Regarding the aggravated break and enter charge, Lamarre-Condon argued that entering the home did not constitute the offense because Baird had previously cut a key for him. He conceded the entry was trespass but maintained it was standard practice to return to a former partner’s residence to collect belongings. He explained that he did not knock to avoid an apprehended violence order, although he called out hello after entering.
The accused disputed his friend’s recollection that he killed Davies to eliminate a witness. Lamarre-Condon claimed he acted in self-defense. He also told the friend that he had fired his weapon in the Royal National Park in early 2024 to test its volume because he intended to return there to take his own life. He cited trauma from work as the source of his suicidality.
Lamarre-Condon criticized the friend for lying in his police statement and for calling him "dumb." The friend threatened to leave the conversation multiple times, stating, "What you're telling me mightn't be the truth." The trial is currently presided over by Justice Natalie Adams.
