Beau Lamarre-Condon trial hears he had surgery two days after alleged killings

Beau Lamarre-Condon underwent surgery at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney on 21 February 2024, two days after the alleged killings of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies and before a trip prosecutors link to the disposal of their bodies, a court heard on Tuesday, according to The Guardian. The timing became part of the evidence in the former police officer’s continuing double murder trial.

A statement from the surgeon, read to the New South Wales supreme court, said the operation began at 7.30am. The surgeon described it as minor and said it would cause no physical restrictions. Lamarre-Condon was discharged from a short stay ward about two hours later, without sutures or a need for follow-up, The Guardian reported.

Hospital visit in the court’s timeline

CCTV shown in court depicted Lamarre-Condon travelling between Baird’s Paddington home and a hardware store in Alexandria on the day after the alleged killings. Other footage showed him at St Vincent’s Hospital on 21 February and later at a hardware store in Rockdale, where the court heard he bought a tarpaulin, tools and other items. Prosecutors say he drove to the Bungonia area that afternoon; Baird’s and Davies’s bodies were eventually found there.

Murder charges and the defence account

Lamarre-Condon, 31, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and a charge of aggravated break and enter. He is accused of shooting Baird and Davies with his police service weapon at Baird’s Paddington home on 19 February 2024. His defence says the men were accidentally shot in separate struggles while he acted in self-defence. Defence lawyer John Stratton SC has said Lamarre-Condon cleaned the scene and disposed of the bodies because he panicked.

The jury visited the Paddington home earlier in the trial, ABC News reported. The proceedings before Justice Natalie Adams continue.