Jesse Baird was concerned by Lamarre-Condon's access to gun, jury hears

Loved ones of Jesse Baird give evidence in Beau Lamarre-Condon double murder trial In short: The NSW Supreme Court is hearing evidence from friends of Jesse Baird in the Beau Lamarre-Condon murder trial on Wednesday. The 31-year-old is accused of shooting Mr Baird and his boyfriend Luke Davies in a Paddington home in Sydney's east in 2024. He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one of aggravated break and enter. Beau Lamarre-Condon's alleged stalking of Jesse Baird in the months leading up to the television presenter's death left him "petrified" and expressing concern about the then-police officer's access to a gun, a jury has heard. Mr Lamarre-Condon is standing trial in the NSW Supreme Court after pleading not guilty to two counts of murder and one of aggravated break and enter. The 31-year-old is accused of shooting Mr Baird and his boyfriend Luke Davies with a service pistol in Mr Baird's home in Paddington, in Sydney's east, in February 2024, after allegedly stalking Mr Baird in the lead-up. The jury has heard Mr Lamarre-Condon had previously been romantically involved with Mr Baird in 2022 and parts of 2023, but Mr Baird told him he was not ready for a relationship and had twice broken things off. The Crown says Mr Lamarre-Condon formed an obsessive and jealous infatuation. 'Kept repeating: he has a gun' Mr Baird's previous long-term partner, Corey Dean Thorpe, on Wednesday gave evidence that in late 2023, Mr Baird told him the defendant would post videos and photos on Instagram of Mr Baird to make it seem like they were in a relationship. "He was petrified, I've never heard him so scared in his voice before," Mr Thorpe said of one phone conversation in November 2023. He fought back tears in the witness box, adding: "He just kept repeating 'he has a gun'." Mr Thorpe agreed that Mr Baird also told him he was scared to report things to police because Mr Lamarre-Condon was an officer, and was concerned there could be false allegations made that could impact his work as a television presenter and AFL umpire. The court heard Mr Baird told Mr Thorpe that Mr Lamarre-Condon would go through his phone when he was asleep, find men he had been talking to, block the number, delete the contact and delete the chat. Mr Thorpe said Mr Baird told him he found out because he had woken up one night and saw the defendant using the phone. He recalled Mr Baird telling him about one instance when he was at a cafe and the accused drove past, before sending a message that read: "I hope you're enjoying that coffee with that guy." The witness also agreed Mr Baird told him he was worried about what would happen when he ended things with Mr Lamarre-Condon "because the accused had stalked him". Mr Thorpe said Mr Baird sought his advice about a proposed message he planned to send the defendant. Mr Lamarre's defence counsel has said he will argue he acted in self defence in the Paddington terrace on the day he is accused of murdering the couple. The Crown said he wore a helmet and dressed as an Uber Eats delivery driver, waiting for three hours for Mr Baird's housemates to leave. The prosecution alleges he shot Mr Baird twice in the kitchen, before shooting Mr Davies, who was in a bedroom calling Triple Zero (000), to ensure there was not a witness to Mr Baird's death. In an opening address, defence counsel John Stratton SC on Tuesday said Mr Lamarre-Condon went to the home, not expecting anyone to be there, to retrieve some possessions. He told jurors it was his client's case that Mr Baird, who did not recognise Mr Lamarre-Condon due to the helmet, was fatally wounded when the gun went off during a struggle. He said the gun was "flung" into the lounge room and during a second struggle involving the pistol, Mr Davies "fatally shot himself". 'A friend and nothing more' On Wednesday, the jury also heard evidence from a friend of Mr Baird, Matthew Edwards, who said Mr Baird had spoken to him about Mr Lamarre-Condon for the first time in January 2023. He said Mr Baird told him the defendant was "a friend and nothing more". The court previously heard that in mid-November 2023, Mr Baird discovered Mr Lamarre-Condon had been accessing his phone and deleting and blocking people. In a message, he requested no further contact from the defendant, calling his behaviour "completely inappropriate", but the Crown said Mr Lamarre-Condon did not move on and his behaviour escalated. Mr Edwards today told the court that in early February 2024, he caught up with Mr Baird and asked if he had "heard from Beau". He told the court Mr Baird replied: "No, thank f***, I'm so done … I'm so done with him." Mr Edwards was also asked about Mr Baird's new relationship with Mr Davies, which the jurors have heard quickly became "something solid" in the first months of 2024. He said he had never seen Mr Baird as happy as he was with Mr Davies. "There was something about Luke that just lit Jesse up. They were the real deal." The trial, before Justice Natalie Adams, continues and is expected to last for up to three months.