Beau Lamarre-Condon trial: Former cop’s comment about ‘murder’ film Saltburn before allegedly killing couple
A former policeman has told a jury about his comment regarding a popular ‘murder’ film days before he allegedly killed a Sydney couple.
An accused killer asked his friend to watch the film Saltburn and said he saw himself playing the “lead role” days before he allegedly murdered his ex-boyfriend and the man’s new partner.
Beau Lamarre-Condon, 31, has pleaded not guilty to the murders of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, arguing self-defence in his murder trial in the NSW Supreme Court.
The former policeman returned to the witness box for his seventh day of evidence on Friday during the eighth week of his trial.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Mr Lamarre-Condon asked his friend to watch the film Saltburn days before he allegedly murdered the couple in February, telling the woman: “I see myself playing the lead role of the nerd.”
The accused killer claimed the comment was “related to my acting class” that he was undertaking, and denied that he was planning to murder Mr Baird.
“The movie that you were referring to, Saltburn, was about a murder, is that right?” Mr Hatfield asked.
“It was the number one movie at the time produced by Margot Robbie,” Mr Lamarre-Condon replied.
“(It’s the) case that it strongly resonated with you?” Mr Hatfield asked.
“That is not the case,” the alleged killer said.
‘I hate losing’: Accused killer’s words about ex
Mr Lamarre-Condon accepted he told a friend “I hate losing” and “I can’t let things go” while speaking about Mr Baird in early 2024, just weeks before allegedly killing him.
But the former policeman claims he was speaking in the past tense when he made the “petty comment”, and had been joking about another man Mr Baird dated the year prior.
“That’s not how I was feeling currently, this was very past tense conversations,” he said.
“I was just updating (the friend) on what had occurred.”
He denied half of the 40-minute conversation was about Mr Baird, Mr Davies, and the other man the TV presenter had previously dated, telling the jury he had “never” talked about the Qantas host before.
Cop planned alleged murders for weeks: court
The jury was told that in January 2024, Mr Lamarre-Condon purchased a SIM card under the name Bob Ballard for what the Crown alleges was a “burner phone”.
Mr Lamarre-Condon was asked on Friday whether he used the phone on January 26 that year in a bid to contact a man he had previously dated, who owned the farm where prosecutors allege the former police officer tried to dump the couple’s bodies.
“You first contacted (the man) with it on January 26, didn’t you, because you were already starting to think about murdering Jesse Baird?” Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield asked.
“Not correct,” the accused killer replied.
“You were thinking about murdering Jesse Baird around this weekend?” Mr Hatfield pressed.
“I have never thought about murdering Jesse Baird, no,” Mr Lamarre-Condon said.
The former senior constable claims he wanted to use what he calls the “second phone” to get statements from fellow officers he says were bullied by a senior sergeant.
“I was wanting to go and compile all these statements and go to the media,” he told the jury.
He claimed he feared he’d be a “target” for police if he spoke to the media.
More to come
Originally published as Beau Lamarre-Condon’s comment about ‘murder’ film Saltburn before allegedly killing couple
