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Courts / Melbourne, VIC

A new love, an old obsession and the final weeks of Jesse Baird's life

ABC News
1 min read Rewritten in plain language

Courts

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  • The memory of being sent a photo from her son, Jesse, at a concert with a message that Luke Davies was now his boyfriend in early 2024 is a memory that causes Helen Baird's eyes to well up.
  • On the prosecution's case, the now-31-year-old's "obsessive and jealous infatuation" with Mr Baird spanned months, despite Mr Baird's belief that what happened between them was casual.
  • In a November 2023 phone conversation with Mr Thorpe, Mr Baird spoke about the defendant using social media to give the impression they were together, the court was told.
  • The evidence in the first week of the trial has focused on what Mr Baird told relatives, friends and colleagues about Mr Lamarre-Condon, and things the accused said to his friends or colleagues about Mr Baird.

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The memory of being sent a photo from her son, Jesse, at a concert with a message that Luke Davies was now his boyfriend in early 2024 is a memory that causes Helen Baird's eyes to well up.

Beau Lamarre-Condon would go through his phone and delete contacts, the court heard, and Mr Baird told his mum that in late 2023, he had told the then-NSW Police officer he did not want to see him again.

Not long after Ms Baird received the concert photo, Mr Baird and Mr Davies were allegedly murdered by Mr Lamarre-Condon with the officer's service pistol inside Mr Baird's Paddington terrace, in Sydney's east.

On the prosecution's case, the now-31-year-old's "obsessive and jealous infatuation" with Mr Baird spanned months, despite Mr Baird's belief that what happened between them was casual.

During an opening address, Crown Prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC outlined a series of behaviours, including monitoring Mr Baird's relationships and interfering with his phone and Instagram account.

In a November 2023 phone conversation with Mr Thorpe, Mr Baird spoke about the defendant using social media to give the impression they were together, the court was told.

The court heard when Mr Baird confronted the accused in a message about the post, Mr Lamarre-Condon said they were from someone else to his mother, Coleen.

The evidence in the first week of the trial has focused on what Mr Baird told relatives, friends and colleagues about Mr Lamarre-Condon, and things the accused said to his friends or colleagues about Mr Baird.

Shortened to 1 minute of reading, this version reads 4.5 on the Niral Score.

You are reading our version, not theirs. This is ABC News's report shortened to its most important sentences, in plainer words, with verdicts and loaded words taken out. Plain description stays, and so do adjectives that carry a fact, such as "former" or "federal". The reporting, the facts and the quotations are theirs — quotations are never edited — and the indicators beside it measure this version. Hover or tap Adjectives to see every one left in the text.

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Outlet Niral ScoreAdjectivesSourcingSentimentHappiness
ABC Newsas they published this story 13 16 83 -0.2 10.4
Mundane Readneutralized from ABC News 12.2 16 83 -0.2 10.4

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