Beau Lamarre-Condon in 'damage control' after misleading Instagram post, trial told

Beau Lamarre-Condon's friend has told a jury how he went into "damage control" after using a photo of flowers from the internet in an Instagram post to falsely suggest he received the bouquet from television presenter Jesse Baird.

Mr. Lamarre-Condon is on trial in the NSW Supreme Court, accused of shooting Mr. Baird and his boyfriend, Luke Davies, with a police pistol in Mr. Baird's home at Paddington, in Sydney's east, on February 19, 2024.

The 31-year-old has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and one of aggravated break and enter, and his lawyers have raised a self-defence argument.

The Crown's case is that Mr. Lamarre-Condon developed a jealous infatuation with Mr. Baird after being somewhat romantically involved with him from 2022, but that Mr. Baird considered it casual and was allegedly stalked in the lead up to his death.

"The accused essentially went into damage control where he took the photo to a florist, paid the florist to replicate that bouquet exactly," Ms. Harvell told the court.

"The accused got his mother to pose holding the bouquet with a handwritten note, acting like she got that from her partner."

Ms. Harvell said the defendant was initially "sticking to the story" but then attempted to contact Mr. Baird to explain. Mr. Baird blocked him.

In other messages after that development, Ms. Harvell told the accused that Mr. Baird had "caused you to do this".

She told the court today that she believed Mr. Baird was "playing games a bit, playing with the accused's mind and heart".

"That caused the accused to get upset and do the things he did with the phone and the flowers," she said.

The trial continues.