A Friend Says Jesse Baird Was Terrified Before He Died
Corey-Dean Thorpe told the top court in New South Wales on 23 September 2026 that Jesse Baird was "petrified" of Beau Lamarre-Condon before Baird was killed. Thorpe is a friend of Baird. He was testifying in Lamarre-Condon's trial on two murder charges. The Guardian
Thorpe said Baird kept saying "he has a gun." He had never heard Baird sound so scared. Baird felt extremely scared, Thorpe said, because Lamarre-Condon had a gun and was a police officer. Asked if Baird was scared to go to police because Lamarre-Condon was an officer, Thorpe said yes.
Thorpe also said Baird feared a false claim that would ruin his career. Baird hosted Totally Wild on TV and worked as an AFL umpire. He needed a clearance to work with children. It was like a work licence. Without it, he could not do his job. So he felt exposed to any complaint.
Thorpe described controlling actions. Baird said Lamarre-Condon went through his phone while he slept, blocked numbers of other men and deleted chats. He also took photos and videos of Baird and posted them. Thorpe held back tears as he spoke. ABC
Lamarre-Condon, 31, is accused of shooting Baird, 26, and Luke Davies, 29, with a police gun at Baird's Paddington home on 19 February 2024. He has pleaded not guilty to two murder charges and one charge of aggravated break and enter, or breaking in with a serious added factor. He denies all charges. He is a former Sydney police officer.
Prosecutors, called the Crown in Australia, say Lamarre-Condon became obsessed with Baird during their brief relationship. They say jealousy was part of it. The case as reported also mentions an Uber delivery disguise and a fake cancer claim. The court also heard he allegedly confessed to a friend after the deaths and asked for help moving. He will argue self-defence, meaning he says he used force to protect himself. ABC
The broader context here is why earlier fear matters when self-defence is claimed. Thorpe's words do not prove how the shootings happened. They describe how Baird reportedly felt. They form part of the prosecution story of obsession and control, which the defence can challenge. If accepted, the claims about deleted chats, blocked contacts and posted photos point to a longer pattern, not one fight.
In my view, one detail carries wider weight. Baird allegedly feared asking for help because Lamarre-Condon was police and had a police gun. That touches on trust in reporting channels. It turns on who is believed and what supports the account, such as messages from the time. What matters next is cross-examination of Thorpe, any records, and how the self-defence claim answers the fear evidence. The court must separate memory of fear from proof of intent, and weigh whether control, jealousy or fear explain February 2024.
