Former TV presenter Jesse Baird appeared to send his housemates a series of text messages about moving out the day after he was allegedly murdered by Beau Lamarre-Condon, a court has heard.
uncertain
court → appear → Condon
The text exchange was released by the NSW Supreme Court after it was shown to the jury in former police officer Lamarre-Condon’s trial over the shooting deaths of Baird, a former Network Ten producer and presenter, and Qantas flight attendant Luke Davies.
asserted
it → release → Baird
Lamarre-Condon, 31, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Baird, 26, and Davies, 29, in Baird’s Paddington share house with his police-issued Glock pistol on the morning of February 19, 2024.
asserted
Condon → plead → February
The Crown alleges the accused sent messages from Baird’s phone to a housemates’ group chat on February 20 to give the impression he was still alive.
asserted
he → allege → impression
At 5.56pm on February 19, hours after the alleged murders, a housemate – dubbed Belinda Smith in the proceedings – texted a photo of what she believed to be “rusted water” near surfboard bags and a tarpaulin in the courtyard of the home to another housemate.
asserted
she → allege → housemate
The second housemate, known as Sarah King in the case, replied: “What the actual f---?”
asserted
housemate → know → case
Smith told the court on Thursday that she inspected the backyard again the following day and “saw that the surfboards had been cleared, and the liquid was gone”.
asserted
liquid → tell → backyard
Texts between all three housemates, tendered in court, show a series of messages from Baird’s phone the day after his death.
asserted
Texts → tender → death
The court has heard Smith and King had asked Baird to move out so that another female friend could join them in the terrace.
uncertain
friend → hear → terrace
He was slated to move out on February 20, the day after the alleged murders.
asserted
He → slat → murders
I’ve hired an air tasker to come and collect my things …
asserted
I → hire → things
I might be doing a road trip to Perth with mates on Thursday night so should be flying back Sunday and will 100% have it out by then,” a message from Baird’s phone at 12.28pm on February 20 read.
uncertain
message → do → February
Smith replied: “Hey Jesse, sorry I’m a bit confused.
asserted
I → reply → ?
I thought you said you were moving out today 20th Feb.
asserted
you → think → ?
Your final rent payment ends tomorrow and [the new housemate] starts paying from Thursday.”
asserted
housemate → end → Thursday
Smith texted King on February 20: “I’m genuinely scared this dude isn’t moving out today.”
asserted
dude → texte → February
The prosecution alleges Lamarre-Condon murdered Baird after developing an “obsessive and jealous infatuation” with him that escalated when Baird ended their casual relationship in November 2023.
asserted
Baird → allege → November
Davies, Baird’s new boyfriend, was killed to eliminate a witness to the crime, the Crown alleges.
asserted
Crown → kill → crime
There is no dispute that Lamarre-Condon was at the terrace when Baird and Davies died, that they died of gunshot wounds from his police-issued pistol, and that he was disguised as a delivery rider.
asserted
he → be → rider
However, the defence case is that Lamarre-Condon was there to pick up some of his belongings and did not expect anybody to be home.
asserted
anybody → pick → belongings
A struggle ensued in which his gun accidentally went off twice, killing Baird, and Davies accidentally shot himself in a second struggle after grabbing the gun, the defence says.
asserted
defence → ensue → gun
According to the defence, Lamarre-Condon panicked and dumped the men’s bodies in surfboard bags in Bungonia, near Goulburn.
uncertain
Condon → accord → Goulburn
The prosecution has told the jury that Lamarre-Condon cleaned the scene while the housemates were out, including throwing items from Baird’s bedroom into a skip bin in Cronulla.
asserted
housemates → tell → Cronulla
The court has heard that police visited the home for the first time on February 21, after items were found in the skip bin by groundskeepers.
asserted
items → hear → groundskeepers
Three cleaners were at the home at the time because they had been booked by King ahead of the arrival of the new housemate.
asserted
they → book → housemate
The trial continues.
asserted
trial → continue → ?
The Aporia
