SYDNEY (AP) — A former police officer in Australia’s New South Wales state pleaded not guilty to murder Friday and told the court prosecutors had rejected his offer to plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in the killings of his former boyfriend and the man’s partner.
Beau Lamarra-Condon is accused of using his service pistol to kill his ex, Jesse Baird, a 26-year-old former television reporter, and Luke Davies, a 29-year-old flight attendant, at Baird’s Sydney home in February 2024.
Lamarra-Condon, 30 appeared in the New South Wales state Supreme Court by video link from prison. He began addressing the judge unprompted, saying he wanted a number of things recorded in the court transcript.
Lamarra-Condon said he had offered to plead guilty to Baird’s manslaughter during a lower court hearing, but prosecutors had refused the offer.
He said he deserved a discount on any future sentence due to that early offer to plead guilty to the lesser charge. Murder carries a maximum of life imprisonment, while manslaughter carries a potential sentence of 25 years.
Lamarra-Condon also accused police and prosecutors of corruption. He said he would oppose any prosecution applications to close the court to the public during his trial or to suppress any evidence from being published by media, saying he wanted the public to know the truth.
“The truth will always prevail and I will not be silenced,” Lamarra-Condon told the judge.
Justice Peter Hamill said that if negotiations had taken place in a lower court to downgrade the charges, there would be a record in Lamarra-Condon’s court file.
Hamill set Lamarra-Condon’s jury trial to begin on Sept. 21 next year.
Police alleged the killings followed months of “predatory behavior” from Lamarra-Condon targeting Baird, who had jilted him.
The bodies were bundled into surfboard bags and dumped at a rural property 200 kilometers (124 miles) from Sydney.
Lamarra-Condon was a senior constable in the New South Wales state police force.
The violence led to calls for police officers to be banned from marching in last year’s Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade, but a compromise allowed officers to march while not in uniform.
Handgun possession is highly restricted in Australia. State police reviewed their gun handling procedures that allegedly enabled Lamarra-Condon to sign out a pistol while off duty.
He joined the force in 2019 and had run a blog where he posted photos of himself with celebrities.
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