Defendant claims friend urged him to hide bodies

Beau Lamarre-Condon told a jury on Tuesday that a friend encouraged him to dispose of two bodies immediately, contrary to his own desire to report the deaths to police. The 31 year old defendant, who faces two murder charges and an aggravated break and enter charge, presented this account in his first statement at the trial.

The statement directly challenges the testimony provided last week by a friend known to the court as Elizabeth Kennedy. Kennedy stated she believed she and Lamarre-Condon were going out for lunch when he picked her up two days after the alleged shootings. She denied helping him and told the court, “I didn’t know anything.”

Lamarre-Condon accused Kennedy of lying to police about her involvement. He stated he wanted to do the “right thing” for the families of the victims, Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, because they deserved to know the truth. The prosecutor, Brett Hatfield SC, read the statement into the record.

According to the defendant, he showed Kennedy the bodies in the back of a van after picking her up. He claimed he began to cry and suggested driving to the police. Kennedy allegedly replied, “No, no, you can’t. They won’t believe you.” Lamarre-Condon said she then quoted the Taylor Swift song “No Body, No Crime” and insisted they get rid of the bodies straight away.

The defendant alleged he warned Kennedy she could be charged as an accessory to murder and that he would not be mad if she left. He said she agreed to help because he would help her in the future. While driving, Lamarre-Condon claimed Kennedy played the song on her phone and laughed at the situation.

At a farm in Bungonia, Lamarre-Condon said Kennedy assisted in carrying the bodies and helped pour concrete into bags to make them sink. He stated that when a bag failed to sink, Kennedy used his pocketknife to cut holes in the surfboard cover, which he said caused knife wounds to Luke Davies' leg. He described her as a willing participant who never said she wanted to leave.

Kennedy disputed this version of events last week. She testified that she waited at a gate while Lamarre-Condon drove to a dam. She denied helping to sink the bodies, noting her height of five feet and weight of 55 kilos. She also stated that Lamarre-Condon played the song in the car, calling it a very niche track.

The court heard a recording of a phone call Lamarre-Condon made on 23 February 2024 at 10.37am, the day he turned himself in. He reported a psychological injury to a police operator, citing anxiety and symptoms of schizophrenia. He said he had been exposed to trauma and severely bullied since joining the force.

In the call, Lamarre-Condon asked the operator to delete the record of the call. He stated the detectives were already aware he was being driven to a central police station. The trial is being heard by Justice Natalie Adams and continues.