Defendant claims friend directed concrete disposal of two bodies

Beau Lamarre-Condon told a Sydney jury on Tuesday that his friend Elizabeth Kennedy directed him to dispose of two bodies immediately after a shooting, a claim that sharply conflicts with Kennedy’s testimony from the previous week. Lamarre-Condon, 31, is accused of fatally shooting Jesse Baird and Luke Davies in February 2024 and is currently on trial for two counts of murder and aggravated break and enter.

The defendant’s statement, read into the record by prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC, describes a sequence of events where Kennedy allegedly insisted on hiding the bodies rather than calling police. Lamarre-Condon claimed he initially wanted to drive straight to the police station but was stopped by Kennedy, who referenced a Taylor Swift song. She allegedly told him, “No, no, you can’t. They won’t believe you. This is like Taylor Swift’s song, No Body, No Crime. We have to get rid of them straight away.”

According to Lamarre-Condon, Kennedy assisted in carrying the bodies to a farm in Bungonia, where they were placed in bags and covered with concrete to make them sink. He stated that Kennedy used a pocketknife to cut holes in a surfboard cover when the bags failed to sink, an action he said caused the knife wounds found on Luke Davies’ leg. Lamarre-Condon described Kennedy as a “willing participant” who never indicated she wanted to leave.

Kennedy, testifying last week, offered a different account. She told the court she believed they were heading to lunch when Lamarre-Condon picked her up and maintained that she did not know anything about the bodies. When questioned by defense barrister John Stratton SC, she noted her physical build as evidence against her involvement, saying, “I’m five foot and weigh 55 kilos so I don’t think I could carry a body even if I tried.” She also claimed Lamarre-Condon played the Swift song in the car, not her.

The trial heard that Lamarre-Condon handed himself into police on 23 February 2024 at 10:37 am. Prior to his surrender, he reported a psychological injury to a police assistance line. In a recording played to the jury, Lamarre-Condon described suffering from anxiety and “some symptoms of schizophrenia.” He stated that exposure to trauma and bullying since joining the force had affected his mental capability. He asked the operator to “delete that whole thing” before telling her the detectives were already aware he was being driven to a central police station.

Justice Natalie Adams is presiding over the trial, which continues with further testimony scheduled for upcoming sessions.