A police officer accused of murdering two men, including his former love interest, will have to wait to enter pleas as prosecutors seek more time to finalize their case against him.
Beaumont Lamarre-Condon has been charged with the murders of Qantas flight attendant Luke Davies, 29, and television presenter Jessie Baird, 26.
The then 28-year-old police officer allegedly shot the men with his NSW Police service weapon at Mr Baird’s Paddington town center home on February 19 while off duty. .
Beaumont Lamarre-Condon’s attorney, John Walford, says the former police officer is “coping, but it’s difficult for him.”
Police allege the attack was premeditated after a months-long campaign of “predatory behavior” against Baird, whom she briefly dated.
Lamarre-Condon did not appear at Sydney’s Downing Center Local Court on Tuesday, when his lawyer John Walford agreed to an eight-week adjournment of the case.
Beaumont Lamarre-Condon has been charged with the murders of Qantas flight attendant Luke Davies (left), 29, and television presenter Jessie Baird (right), 26.
Police allege the attack was premeditated after a months-long campaign of “predatory behavior” directed at Mr Baird, whom Lamarre-Condon (pictured) briefly dated.
As Davies’ family listened to the hearing via audio link from Queensland, Crown prosecutor Brendan Donnelly said time was needed to finalize charges against the former officer.
“We plan to have the charges established by then,” he told Magistrate Daniel Covington.
Outside court, Walford told reporters that he would be given a summary of evidence in the case later Tuesday, but that it was too early for his client to enter a plea.
He said Lamarre-Condon was doing well in custody, given the circumstances.
“He’s coping, but it’s hard for everyone.” It’s hard for him too.”
It was also too early to know whether a mental health defense would be raised or whether the matter would go to trial, he told reporters.
The couple’s bodies were found on February 27 inside surfboard bags on the fence of a rural property near Goulburn, about 200 kilometers southwest of Sydney.
The bodies were found near a roadside fence in regional New South Wales (pictured, police searching for the men)
Lamarre-Condon had been charged with two counts of murder before the two bodies were found.
Suspicion that they were dead arose after possessions belonging to the men were found in a container in the southern Sydney suburb of Cronulla, leading police to Mr Baird’s blood-stained shared home.
Lamarre-Condon joined the New South Wales Police in 2019 and previously ran a celebrity blog, posing in photographs with dozens of celebrities including Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus and Harry Styles.
He was fired from the force in mid-March.
The matter will return to court on August 13.