Fear has a very specific sound. In a Sydney courtroom, a friend of Jesse Baird broke down sobbing while recalling the exact words that revealed a horrifying reality.
Jesse Baird was petrified. He kept repeating a single terrifying fact to those closest to him: "He has a gun."
The New South Wales supreme court is currently hearing the high-profile murder trial of former police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon. The 31-year-old stands accused of the February 2024 shooting deaths of Baird, 26, and his new partner, Luke Davies, 29, inside Baird's Paddington home. Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter, with his defense team arguing he acted in self-defence during a struggle over a firearm.
Yet the testimonies emerging from the witness box paint a dark picture of control, obsession, and systemic fear that long preceded that fatal day.
The Power Imbalance That Kept a Victim Silent
When someone tells you they are afraid of a person who carries a badge and a government-issued firearm, ordinary rules of seeking help stop working. For Baird, the danger wasn't just physical. It was institutional.
Corey-Dean Thorpe, a close friend who previously shared a long-term relationship with Baird, testified about the deep terror Baird felt during the tail end of his brief relationship with Lamarre-Condon. Baird wanted out. But he felt completely cornered.
Why didn't he simply go to the police? The answer exposes a terrifying gap in protective systems.
Baird was scared to report the stalking and controlling behavior because Lamarre-Condon was himself a serving police officer. Court proceedings revealed that Baird worried the accused could use his position to fabricate a false allegation. For a young man whose livelihood depended on public trust—working as a television presenter on the children’s show Totally Wild and as an AFL umpire—a false police complaint carried career-ending consequences. He needed a valid working-with-children clearance to survive professionally.
Instead of protection, the badge represented a loaded weapon pointed directly at his reputation and his safety.
The Anatomy of an Obsession
Prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC detailed how Lamarre-Condon developed an intense obsession and infatuation with Baird that spiraled out of control when the relationship ended in late 2023. Stalking and obsessive behavior followed.
By February 2024, Baird thought he was finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. In text messages presented to the court, Baird expressed relief to a friend, writing: "No, thank fuck, I'm so done with him. Once I move house, this will be the last piece of me that Beau knows."
Around that exact time, Baird had begun a new relationship with Luke Davies. Friends described Baird as happier than ever. One witness noted that Davies "lit Jesse up" and that they were "the real deal."
That happiness was brutally cut short on 19 February 2024, when Lamarre-Condon allegedly entered Baird's home disguised as an Uber Eats driver, leading to the tragic double shooting.
The Defense Argument Versus the Witness Box
The core of the legal battle unfolding before Justice Natalie Adams rests on starkly contrasting narratives.
On one side, the crown points to months of documented fear, controlling behavior, text message trails, and witness accounts showing Baird trapped by a partner who held absolute institutional power over him.
On the other side, defense lawyer John Stratton SC argues a different version of events, claiming the former officer acted in self-defence during a physical struggle over a weapon.
Trials like this force society to look closely at how power imbalances function in domestic settings. When the person accused of domestic abuse or stalking wears a uniform and carries a firearm, the traditional safety nets meant to catch victims often fail entirely.
The trial continues. The testimonies remain. And the chilling words echoing from the witness box—he has a gun—stand as a grim reminder of a silence that should never have been forced upon anyone.
