Lamarre-Condon trial hears Taylor Swift song played during alleged body disposal

Friend tells NSW supreme court of two-hour drive to Bungonia two days after Jesse Baird and Luke Davies were shot

By LineZotpaper

Published21 October 2026

Updated21 October 2026

Read Time3 min

Sources3 outlets

Beau Lamarre-Condon, the NSW police officer on trial for the murder of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, played Taylor Swift's No Body, No Crime while driving a van during an alleged attempt to dispose of the two bodies, the NSW supreme court has heard.

The court was told Lamarre-Condon, 31, was driving to Bungonia with a friend, known under the pseudonym Elizabeth Kennedy, when the song was played in the van. Kennedy said she thought she and Lamarre-Condon were going out for lunch when he picked her up at her home in a white van about 3pm on 21 February 2024, two days after the alleged murders.

She said she noticed a blue tarp in the back of the van and a lemony smell, as though it had just been cleaned. Asked about the song, she told the court: "He was the one that put that song on in the car ... it's a very niche song." She said when she asked how he knew it, he replied it was from the album evermore, but he did not know any of the other songs she tried to play from that album.

Defence lawyer John Stratton SC suggested Lamarre-Condon lifted a tarpaulin and showed Kennedy Baird's deceased head, and that she helped him dispose of the bodies, including trying to sink Davies' body in a dam. He suggested she had given untruthful evidence to minimise her role. Kennedy denied the suggestions. "I didn't know anything. I'm five foot and weigh 55 kilos so I don't think I could carry a body even if I tried," she said.

Kennedy said the drive stretched to about two hours, covering about 150km to Goulburn and Bungonia, with the van's windows open and the air conditioning on full blast. She said Lamarre-Condon seemed "bubbly" and talked about Swift, who was touring Australia at the time, and a Europe trip they were planning. They stopped at Bunnings Goulburn, where a sales assistant said two customers told him they were locked out of a friend's farm. Kennedy said Lamarre-Condon asked her to pay for an angle grinder and a padlock.

At Cella Farm in Bungonia, Kennedy said, Lamarre-Condon asked her to cover the van's number plates with garbage bags. When she refused, he did it himself, then cut the padlock from the gate, cutting himself in the process. He asked her to wait and not turn on her phone while he drove out of sight to a dam, returning 30 or 40 minutes later. She said she was having a panic attack.

On the return trip, Kennedy said, Lamarre-Condon was "weird and cryptic" and said "if I'm quiet, I'm not angry, I'm just thinking". He attempted to call another police officer friend, asked her to buy him a peach Lipton iced tea and to fuel the van, which she could not do. She noticed the blue tarp was no longer in the van when they left. The bodies of Baird and Davies were later found in Bungonia.

Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter. The defence says the men were accidentally shot as he acted in self-defence and that he cleaned up and disposed of the bodies because he "panicked considerably". The trial before Justice Natalie Adams continues.

Analysis

Why This Matters

The trial centres on the alleged use of a police service weapon in the killing of two men, putting the conduct of a serving officer under scrutiny.
The case has drawn sustained public attention since the bodies were found in Bungonia after the alleged murders.
The jury will have to weigh the friend's account of the alleged disposal against the defence's claim of a panicked, accidental shooting in self-defence.

Background

Lamarre-Condon is accused of fatally shooting Jesse Baird with his police service weapon in Baird's Paddington home on 19 February 2024, and of killing Baird's partner, Luke Davies. He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one charge of aggravated break and enter. His lawyer has said the men were accidentally shot as Lamarre-Condon acted in self-defence, and that he cleaned up and disposed of the bodies afterwards because he "panicked considerably". The trial, before Justice Natalie Adams, is continuing.

Key Perspectives

Prosecution: The case against Lamarre-Condon is that he fatally shot both men with his police weapon and then attempted to dispose of their bodies, with the trial hearing evidence of a two-hour drive to Bungonia, a stop at a Bunnings store and a visit to a farm dam.

Defence: Lamarre-Condon says he is not guilty, claiming the shootings were accidental and in self-defence. His lawyer, John Stratton SC, has suggested the friend Elizabeth Kennedy was involved in the disposal of the bodies and gave untruthful evidence to minimise her role.

Kennedy: The friend in the van denies helping dispose of the bodies or seeing Baird's body. She says Lamarre-Condon chose the Taylor Swift song, did not want to appear on service station cameras and appeared to panic when a call went unanswered.

What to Watch

Whether Kennedy's account withstands cross-examination and how the jury weighs her evidence against the defence's suggestions.
Further testimony about the alleged crime scene, the shooting and the discovery of the bodies in Bungonia.
The verdict from the NSW supreme court jury, with the trial before Justice Natalie Adams ongoing.

Sources

Beau Lamarre-Condon allegedly played Taylor Swift’s No Body, No Crime during body disposal, court told · World news | The Guardian
Beau Lamarre-Condon allegedly played Taylor Swift’s No Body, No Crime during body disposal, court told · Australia news | The Guardian
Lamarre-Condon told friend 'I don't want to involve you', jury told · Just In

Checked

12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.

Show each claim

SupportedThe trial heard Lamarre-Condon played Taylor Swift’s “No Body, No Crime” during an alleged body-disposal attempt.World news | The Guardian: “Beau Lamarre-Condon allegedly played Taylor Swift’s No Body, No Crime during body disposal, court told.”
Partly supportedKennedy described a two-hour drive to Bungonia two days after Baird and Davies were shot.World news | The Guardian: “Lamarre-Condon, 31, is accused of fatally shooting Jesse Baird and his partner, Luke Davies, with his police service weapon in Baird’s Paddington home on 19 February 2024.”
SupportedThe court heard Lamarre-Condon played the song while driving a van to Bungonia during an alleged attempt to dispose of the bodies.World news | The Guardian: “Beau Lamarre-Condon played Taylor Swift’s song No Body, No Crime while attempting to dispose of two corpses, a court has heard. The NSW supreme court has been told he was driving to Bungonia with a friend when the song was played in the van.”
SupportedKennedy said Lamarre-Condon put the song on in the car and called it “a very niche song.”World news | The Guardian: ““He was the one that put that song on in the car … it’s a very niche song,” she told the court.”
SupportedKennedy denied knowing anything and said she did not think she could carry a body.World news | The Guardian: ““I didn’t know anything. I’m five foot and weigh 55 kilos so I don’t think I could carry a body even if I tried,” she said.”
SupportedStratton suggested Kennedy helped Lamarre-Condon dispose of the bodies and attempted to sink Davies’ body in a dam.World news | The Guardian: “Stratton suggested Kennedy entered the van to help Lamarre-Condon dispose of the bodies, and accused her of attempting to sink Davies’ body in a dam.”
SupportedKennedy said the drive to Goulburn and Bungonia took about two hours and covered about 150km.World news | The Guardian: “It ended up being a two-hour drive to Goulburn and Bungonia, about 150km away, the court heard.”
SupportedKennedy noticed a blue tarp in the van and a lemony smell, as though it had just been cleaned.World news | The Guardian: “She said she noticed a blue tarp in the back of the van and a lemony smell, like it had just been cleaned.”
SupportedKennedy said Lamarre-Condon seemed “bubbly” and talked about Swift’s Australian tour and a planned Europe trip.World news | The Guardian: “She said that during the drive he seemed “bubbly” and talked about Swift, who was touring Australia at that time, as well as a Europe trip they were planning together.”
SupportedA Bunnings sales assistant said two customers claimed they had locked themselves out of a friend’s farm.World news | The Guardian: “In a statement read to the court on Wednesday morning, a Bunnings sales assistant said he had been approached by two customers that day who claimed they were staying at a friend’s farm in nearby Bungonia and had locked themselves out.”
SupportedKennedy said Lamarre-Condon asked her to cover the van’s number plates with garbage bags, and did so himself when she refused.World news | The Guardian: “When they arrived, he asked her to put garbage bags over the van’s number plates, but she refused, so he did it himself, Kennedy said.”
SupportedKennedy said the bodies of Baird and Davies were later found in Bungonia.World news | The Guardian: “The bodies of Baird and Davies were later found in Bungonia.”