By Perry Duffin
The release of a psychiatric report into accused double murderer Beau Lamarre-Condon’s state of mind when he allegedly killed couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies is weeks away, a court has been told.
The former police officer has spent a year in prison after allegedly using his service-issued Glock pistol to shoot former partner Baird, a television presenter with whom he had become fixated, and Qantas flight attendant Davies, inside a Paddington terrace home on February 19, 2024.
Beau Lamarre-Condon (top left), Jesse Baird, Luke Davies and the Paddington home where police allege the double murder took place.Credit: Instagram/Sydney Morning Herald
Lamarre-Condon’s publicly funded lawyer on Thursday told the Downing Centre Local Court his client was seen by a forensic psychologist and a report would be issued on April 1.
The 29-year-old’s Legal Aid team will review the findings until April 30, when they will meet with prosecutors to discuss the next steps.
Lawyers use forensic mental health reports to determine whether an accused criminal was suffering from such a drastic psychological impairment that they cannot be held “criminally responsible” for their actions.
A finding that Lamarre-Condon was not “criminally responsible” would probably land him in the care of the forensic mental health system, which can release people once experts conclude they are not a threat to the public.
He remains in the jurisdiction of the Local Court with no plea entered to the two counts of domestic violence murder.
The then-serving police officer allegedly hid the bodies of Baird and Davies in surfboard bags and submerged them in a dam outside Sydney before he was captured and allegedly revealed their location.
Lamarre-Condon’s private lawyers were exploring mental health as a potential defence within days of his arrest. But that team parted ways with him in November last year.
“Mental health is something we expect to come into play,” his former lawyer John Walford said last March.
Such a legal defence would have to contend with what police allege is extensive forensic evidence that Lamarre-Condon both pulled the trigger and had planned to do so for days.
Investigators claim Lamarre-Condon had stalked Baird, potentially breaking into his home and damaging the television presenter’s car in the lead-up to the alleged murder.
Baird had complained about a “shadowy figure” at the foot of his bed to his friends.
Lamarre-Condon had allegedly purchased a surf-board bag from a Miranda shop on Saturday.
He also allegedly checked his service weapon out of Miranda police station ahead of a shift patrolling a pro-Palestine rally on Sunday.
That evening he allegedly murdered Baird and Davies, who was allegedly killed simply for being in the home at the time.
At 2pm on the day of the killing, Lamarre-Condon was allegedly caught on CCTV buying the second of two surfboard bags police say were first used to hide the bodies at the Paddington home.
He also allegedly rented a white van to transport and conceal their bodies.
Lamarre-Condon will not return to court until May 20, which will be 15 months since he was taken into custody.
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