Jurors in the murder trial of former NSW police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon have been shown close-up photographs of a gunshot wound sustained by Jesse Baird, with stippling marks indicating the gun was fired at close range.
Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to the February 2024 murders of Baird, his ex-partner, and TV presenter Luke Davies, Baird's new partner. The third week of the double murder trial has focused on how investigators found the men's remains in rural NSW.
Forensic evidence of stippling marks
Crime scene officer Greg Moon, who coordinated a forensic sweep of the Greek monastery at Bungonia where the bodies were found, continued giving evidence on Thursday about the condition of the remains. Moon walked the length of the jury box to individually show each juror pinprick marks around the wound known as stippling, caused by particles coming out of a gun when it is fired.
Moon said examining the stippling can indicate the distance between the gun and its target. "The closer the firearm is to the target, the stippling will be quite condensed around the gunshot wound," he said. "The only area I saw stippling was around that gunshot wound on the right temple."
Discovery of the bodies
The bodies were discovered inside two surfboard or standup paddleboard bags, with the smaller bag containing the body zipped up inside a larger one, Moon said. He said the bodies were discovered one on top of the other with rocks and small branches placed on top.
Fellow investigator Christine Abela said she immediately knew something was amiss when she first arrived at the rural property more than a week after the two men were killed. "There was a strong smell as soon as I got out of the car," she told the NSW supreme court jury on Wednesday. "The scent of a decomposing body."
Trial continues
Justice Natalie Adams warned jurors on Thursday they would see confronting photos as part of their civic duty. "Skin will be in a decomposed state … it's not going to look what you think it's going to look like," the judge said.
Most family members of Baird and Davies have not been present in court for the forensic evidence. The crown alleges Lamarre-Condon, now 31, killed Baird "execution-style" at close range, while the former officer's barrister says the men were killed in self-defence during two separate violent struggles. The 12-week trial continues.
