Lamarre-Condon tells jury friend Kennedy directed body disposal

A former police officer told a Sydney jury that a friend forced him to hide two bodies instead of calling the police.

Beau Lamarre-Condon, 31, is on trial for the fatal shooting of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies in February 2024. His statement, read into the record on Tuesday, places his friend Elizabeth Kennedy at the center of the body disposal.

Lamarre-Condon claims he initially wanted to report the deaths but Kennedy stopped him. He alleges she told him, “No, no, you can’t. They won’t believe you.” He said she cited a Taylor Swift song titled “No Body, No Crime” and insisted they get rid of the bodies “straight away.”

The testimony directly conflicts with Kennedy’s evidence from last week. Kennedy told the court she did not know what was happening and did not help carry the bodies. She stated, “I didn’t know anything,” and noted her small physical frame made carrying a body unlikely. She also claimed Lamarre-Condon played the song in the car, not her.

Lamarre-Condon’s statement says Kennedy helped pour concrete into bags at a farm in Bungonia. He claims she cut holes in a surfboard cover with his pocket knife, which he says caused the knife wounds on Luke Davies’s leg. Lamarre-Condon said Kennedy was a “willing participant” and did not object to her role.

The defendant explained that he kept Kennedy’s involvement secret initially because she begged him not to tell police. He told the court he would have to speak the truth because he “can’t lie under oath.”

Lamarre-Condon handed himself into police on February 23, 2024. A recording of his call to a police assistance line earlier that morning was played for the jury. He told the operator he was suffering from anxiety and symptoms of schizophrenia and asked her to delete the record of the call. He stated that the detectives were already aware he was being driven to a central police station.