Cop's murder trial hinges on DNA evidence path debate
Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 13 Oct, 02:32 · Archive
A former Australian police officer contesting two murder charges argues DNA found in his pistol barrel could not have travelled through a bullet hole in a door.
Beau Lamarre-Condon, 31, a former senior constable, is on trial in NSW Supreme Court contesting two murder charges. He accepts shooting Jesse Baird in Baird's terrace home in Paddington, Sydney, but claims he acted in self-defence after entering the home in disguise to retrieve personal items. Baird's new boyfriend Luke Davies, 29, was killed moments later.
The defence argues Davies died in a violent struggle for Lamarre-Condon's police pistol, not from a shot fired through a bedroom door. DNA was found within the barrel of the pistol but could not be tested for technical reasons. Lamarre-Condon's barrister John Stratton suggested it was almost impossible for biological material to travel from a wound through a bullet hole in a door and into the gun barrel. The bullet hole was only discovered in July, more than two years after the deaths, and measured less than one centimetre in diameter.
Crime scene expert Greg Moon disagreed with the defence. While acknowledging the transfer was improbable, he maintained it could still occur. The jury of 15 is considering this disputed evidence as the trial continues.
How it is being reported
- DNA questioned as cop mounts defence at murder trialA jury has been asked to ponder whether DNA found in the barrel of Beau Lamarre-Condon's police pistol travelled backwards through a bullet hole in a door.The West Australian · 13 Oct, 01:58
- DNA questioned as cop mounts defence at murder trialA jury has been asked to ponder whether DNA found in the barrel of Beau Lamarre-Condon's police pistol travelled backwards through a bullet hole in a door.Perth Now · 13 Oct, 01:58
In this story: Beau Lamarre-Condon · Luke Davies · Jesse Baird · Greg Moon · John Stratton · Paddington · Sydney · NSW Supreme Court
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