Police colleague texts 'Hey hun' to officer accused of double murder

The central conflict in the trial of Beau Lamarre-Condon involves a police officer who vanished for four days after allegedly murdering two men. Prosecutors argue that his disappearance and casual digital communication with a colleague suggest he was hiding rather than resting. The jury at the New South Wales Supreme Court heard that Lamarre-Condon, a 31-year-old officer, did not respond to a direct message from a fellow officer while hiding out at a friend's home.

The alleged murders occurred on 19 February 2024 in an inner-city terrace. The victims were Lamarre-Condon's ex-partner, Jesse Baird, and Luke Davies, both of whom were in their 20s. The following morning, Lamarre-Condon messaged a friend known as Fiona Rosso, telling her not to worry and that he had deleted all his social media accounts. Three days later, he appeared at Rosso's home in tears, stating he had done something bad. He claimed his phone was on airplane mode, which is why he had not seen police inquiries.

During his time at Rosso's residence, Lamarre-Condon used two buckets to scrub blood from a white van parked outside. He spent that night there before driving to Sydney. His mother texted him the code word 'hot chocolate' to signal that police had searched her home. On 21 February, Const Hayley Keefe sent a message to Lamarre-Condon's personal Instagram account at the request of a crime manager. She wrote, 'Hey hun … can you please contact the crime manager at eastern suburbs asap when you get a chance?'

Keefe deleted the message after it remained unread, noting in her statement that she felt awkward using personal social media for business purposes. Police continued to try to reach Lamarre-Condon for another day. He finally made a three-minute phone call to police on 22 February. During that call, he told Const Kye Richards, 'I just either want to let a detective or a sergeant know I am not avoiding them.' He added, 'Just tell them I will come in tomorrow.'

Lamarre-Condon turned himself in and led officers to a rural property. There, they found the bodies of Baird and Davies inside surfboard bags. He has pleaded not guilty to both counts of murder. The Crown alleges he killed Baird execution-style at close range due to a jealous obsession and then shot Davies to remove a witness. Lamarre-Condon claims he acted in self-defense while retrieving belongings from the terrace. Prosecutors rejected his earlier offer to plead guilty to the manslaughter of Baird.

The trial is presided over by Justice Natalie Adams. The court is currently examining the timeline of Lamarre-Condon's actions in the days following the incident, focusing on his communication habits and his interactions with police and friends.