Former police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon played Taylor Swift’s country-murder ballad No Body, No Crime while driving a van carrying the bodies of two murdered men, the NSW Supreme Court has heard.
The harrowing detail emerged during ongoing proceedings regarding the deaths of former television presenter Jesse Baird, 26, and Qantas flight attendant Luke Davies, 29, who were allegedly shot dead inside a Paddington terrace in eastern Sydney earlier this year.
A sinister soundtrack on the road south
According to evidence detailed in court and reported by The Guardian Australia, Mr Lamarre-Condon was accompanied by an acquaintance as he drove a hired white van towards rural Bungonia, in the Southern Tablelands, in the days immediately following the double homicide.
Witness testimony revealed that during the journey south along the Hume Highway, the accused officer selected and played the American pop star’s track No Body, No Crime — a song detailing the retaliatory murder of a cheating husband whose remains are hidden and never recovered.
The witness, who travelled with Mr Lamarre-Condon without realising the lethal cargo stowed behind them, recounted the surreal sequence of events as the former senior constable navigated the regional route while the music played through the vehicle's speakers.
Heavy citrus scents and hardware stops
The court heard the hired commercial van was permeated by a strong, overwhelming smell resembling lemon disinfectant when the acquaintance entered the cabin. In the rear of the vehicle, hidden from plain view, lay a prominent blue plastic tarpaulin beneath which the bodies of Mr Baird and Mr Davies were allegedly concealed.
The Guardian Australia reported that the journey included a planned detour to a Bunnings hardware store, where purchases were made prior to heading further into remote bushland. The court was told the companion had accompanied the former officer under false pretences, entirely unaware that the errand was part of an elaborate cover-up.
Prosecutors allege that Mr Lamarre-Condon used his police-issued service firearm to execute both men inside the Paddington property, before undertaking a frantic interstate and regional effort to conceal the victims and dispose of crucial forensic evidence.
Bungonia property at centre of search
The rural locality of Bungonia, roughly two hours south-west of Sydney, became the focal point of an intensive multi-agency police operation following the men's disappearance. Detectives, forensic specialists, and tactical rescue crews combed extensive acreage, dams, and dense bush before the victims’ remains were eventually located in surf bags alongside a fence line.
The discovery concluded a week-long search that gripped the nation and prompted profound scrutiny over police procedures, specifically the oversight and storage protocols governing service weapons outside rostered operational shifts.
Unwitting companion assists rental journey
The Supreme Court heard that the acquaintance who accompanied Mr Lamarre-Condon believed they were merely assisting a friend with a routine country trip, having had no involvement in or knowledge of the violent acts committed days prior.
The witness described feeling uneasy about the intense chemical fragrance masking the interior of the cabin and the presence of the secured tarpaulin, but only understood the gravity of the situation once police launched a public appeal for the vehicle’s movements.
The trial before the Supreme Court continues, as prosecutors piece together the precise timeline and physical trail left by the former officer across regional New South Wales.
