An alleged former police officer accused of murdering two men reportedly had a brief romantic relationship with the son of the farming family whose property became a central site in the investigation, court documents revealed Wednesday.
Beau Lamarre-Condon, who faces charges of double murder and aggravated break and enter, is accused of breaking into Jesse Baird’s Paddington home on February 19, 2024, and fatally shooting Baird and his boyfriend, Luke Davies, with his service pistol. Prosecutors allege he then attempted to dispose of their bodies by trying to sink them in a dam on the family-owned Cella Farm near Bungonia before abandoning them at a nearby Greek monastery near Goulburn.
In a statement read during proceedings at the New South Wales Supreme Court, Michael Cella recounted his relationship with the defendant. The two connected on a dating app in March 2023. Despite Lamarre-Condon simultaneously dating Baird, he and Cella began exchanging messages and met for dates later that year. On November 6, 2023, Cella took Lamarre-Condon to the Cella family’s hobby farm for an overnight visit. Lamarre-Condon reportedly documented the visit and posted a video of the farm on Instagram, using the track “You Belong With Me” by Taylor Swift.
According to Cella, despite multiple Instagram posts featuring Baird, Lamarre-Condon insisted they were merely friends. This, combined with Lamarre-Condon’s continued relationship with Baird, led Cella to lose interest. By January 2024, Cella ceased communication, blocking Lamarre-Condon’s contact details. Following this, Cella received multiple calls from unknown numbers and an encrypted messaging app, which he ignored. On February 25, 2024, he was contacted by homicide detectives, who informed him they suspected the remains of Baird and Davies were on the family farm.
Detectives spent several days searching the property. While evidence suggested an attempt was made to submerge the bodies in a dam, the victims were eventually found on the fence line of the nearby Greek monastery two days later.
The prosecution contends that Lamarre-Condon shot Baird twice in the kitchen before fatally shooting Davies through a bedroom door. The defense disputes this account, arguing Baird’s death occurred during an unanticipated struggle in the kitchen, and that Davies took his own life in a separate struggle shortly afterward.
On Wednesday, ballistics expert Lucas Van Der Walt addressed a defense theory relating to a bullet hole found in Baird’s bedroom door. When questioned if the bullet could have passed through a body prior to hitting the door, Van Der Walt rejected the possibility, citing the presence of stippling—gunpowder residue patterns—that indicated the bullet was fired directly at the door. The defense counsel noted that despite searches, no bullet was recovered from the bedroom and suggested scenarios such as it being removed or hidden in a pillow.
Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to two counts of domestic violence-related murder and one count of aggravated break and enter, maintaining a self-defense claim. The trial is ongoing.