The day before he allegedly murdered Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, Beau Lamarre-Condon questioned a fellow police officer about two high-profile cases: the killing of Lilie James and the disappearance and murder of Matthew Leveson.
Former police officer Ben Higginson told the court on Friday that he was working alongside Lamarre-Condon at an event in Sydney’s Domain on February 18, 2024.
After Lamarre-Condon asked about his previous work, Mr Higginson said he had been involved in the investigation into the murder of Lilie James.
Ms James, 21, was beaten to death by her former boyfriend, Paul Thijssen, 24, at St Andrew’s Cathedral School in Sydney’s CBD on October 25, 2023. Thijssen later took his own life (both pictured below).
Mr Higginson said Lamarre-Condon showed considerable interest in the case.
“I gave him a fair bit of detail about how f***ed up it was, and then some of the things Thijssen had done,” he told the court.
Asked by the Crown prosecutor what that information involved, Mr Higginson replied: “We believe Thijssen used Lily’s phone to text her father and tell him to come to the school after he had killed her.”
“[Lamarre-Condon] thought Thijssen was stupid for doing it on CCTV.
“He asked if Thijssen hadn’t murdered Lily and then been captured on CCTV, would he have gotten away with it.
“I said we don’t rely only on CCTV; there’s a significant investigative effort involved as well.”
Mr Higginson also recalled Lamarre-Condon asking how investigators examine other evidence in murder cases, including mobile phones.
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“We can make a request to your phone company and they’ll give us a rough signal, showing where you are or where you’re going,” he said.
“So if you leave your phone at home and commit a murder, the phone would appear to be in the vicinity of your residence.”
Mr Higginson said Lamarre-Condon also appeared interested in the case of Matthew Leveson (pictured below), who disappeared after leaving a Sydney nightclub in 2007.
Leveson’s remains were found in 2017, but no one has been convicted over his death. His boyfriend, Michael Atkins, was tried and acquitted.
Mr Higginson told the court that he explained how Atkins had been captured on CCTV buying a tarp at Bunnings after Leveson disappeared.
“Then we spoke about not using bank cards and using cash because it’s more difficult for police to trace,” he said.
“With bank cards, we issue a notice to produce to the bank, which provides details of your purchases and deposits. Investigators can then follow up by reviewing CCTV and speaking with people.”
The prosecutor also asked Mr Higginson to describe Lamarre-Condon’s behaviour during the conversation.
He replied: “He thought Thijssen was stupid for doing it on CCTV.
‘He was pretty blase.’
