Gasps filled a courtroom as Coleen Lamarre, the mother of an accused double murderer and former police officer, was granted bail on Tuesday. Lamarre, 63, appeared via video link in the NSW Supreme Court to face allegations of interfering with a witness in her son Beau Lamarre-Condon's high-profile murder trial.
Lamarre has been charged with doing an act with the intent to pervert the course of justice, stemming from claims she attempted to persuade a witness to provide a false statement. She has not yet entered a plea to the charge.
Her son, Beau Lamarre-Condon, a former senior constable, is accused of fatally shooting television presenter Jesse Baird and flight attendant Luke Davies in February 2024. Prosecutors allege Lamarre-Condon used his service pistol at the couple's Sydney home before bundling their bodies into surfboard bags and dumping them at a rural property. The bodies were discovered eight days later.
Lamarre-Condon, who had briefly dated Baird, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and aggravated break and enter. He was the first serving NSW police officer to be charged with murder in decades. He was charged after surrendering to police and was subsequently dismissed from the force.
Lamarre-Condon's case is scheduled to return to court later in July, with his trial set to commence in September. The proceedings have garnered significant public attention, with indications that hundreds of witnesses may be called to testify.
Following the bail decision for Coleen Lamarre, a number of her family members in the court gallery were seen crying and embracing, with one expressing quiet thanks. Lamarre, a former police officer herself and a grandmother of five, maintained a neutral expression as the bail conditions were announced.