A covert recording capturing former police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon apologising to a friend for entangling them in his double-murder charges has been played to a Sydney courtroom.

The 31-year-old former senior constable is accused of the fatal shooting of former Network 10 presenter Jesse Baird and Qantas flight attendant Luke Davies, who were killed inside a terrace house in Sydney’s inner east in February 2024.

Covert recording details prison encounter

As reported by The Guardian Australia, the audio recording was captured during a visit at a correctional facility in December last year, months after Lamarre-Condon was remanded in custody pending trial.

In the recording, which was tendered as evidence and played during proceedings, Lamarre-Condon could be heard reflecting on the collateral impact of his arrest on his inner circle.

“I fully take accountability that you’re involved because of me now,” Lamarre-Condon told the friend, acknowledging the disruption and police scrutiny visited upon associates in the wake of the homicides.

Paddington shooting and service weapon allegations

The Crown alleges that Lamarre-Condon used his standard-issue NSW Police Glock service pistol to kill Mr Baird, 26, and Mr Davies, 29, inside Mr Baird’s Paddington home on 19 February 2024.

Neighbours reported hearing gunshots on the morning of the alleged murders, but emergency services were not alerted until several days later, when bloodied clothes, personal items, and a watch belonging to Mr Davies were discovered inside a skip bin in Cronulla.

The discovery launched Strike Force Hawkesbury, an extensive investigation by homicide detectives that quickly pivoted to focus on Lamarre-Condon, who had previously been in a relationship with Mr Baird. Investigators subsequently discovered that a police firearm checked out for operational duties had not been returned to Miranda police station in accordance with official protocol.

Extensive manhunt and discovery of bodies

The killings and the subsequent search captivated the nation. Prosecutors allege that after the shootings, Lamarre-Condon hired a white van, purchased equipment from hardware stores across Sydney, and moved the bodies out of the metropolitan area.

After an intensive four-day manhunt, Lamarre-Condon surrendered to detectives at Bondi police station on 23 February. Several days later, following ongoing inquiries, police located the bodies of both men concealed under debris at a rural property in Bungonia, near Goulburn in the Southern Tablelands.

The case has triggered sweeping internal reviews within the NSW Police Force regarding the tracking, off-duty storage, and auditing of lethal force equipment, alongside widespread community mourning across Sydney's LGBTIQ+ community, in which both victims were prominent and beloved figures.

Surveillance forms critical component of Crown case

The covert recording played to the court forms part of an expansive brief of surveillance and telecommunications evidence gathered by detectives in the months following the arrest.

The Crown is relying on electronic toll data, mobile phone tower triangulation, surveillance recordings, and forensic ballistic reports to reconstruct the movements of the accused in the hours surrounding the Paddington killings.

The court continues to hear evidence as proceedings progress.

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