In a development that adds a fresh layer of family drama to an already grim saga, the mother of a former New South Wales police officer accused of murdering two men has been charged with perverting the course of justice. New South Wales police say Coleen Lamarre, 63, was arrested in Balmain for allegedly attempting to influence a key witness to change their testimony in her son's upcoming double murder trial. The charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years - a sentence that suggests the justice system takes witness tampering about as seriously as it takes the original crime.
Coleen, a former NSW police employee herself, was refused bail and will appear before the bail division court on Thursday. She's now the second family member facing legal trouble, following her son Beaumont Lamarre-Condon, who was charged with double murder in February 2024. Police allege Lamarre-Condon shot TV presenter Jesse Baird, 26, with whom he had a prior casual relationship, and Baird's partner Luke Davies, a 29-year-old Qantas flight attendant, using his police pistol at Baird's inner-city home. The bodies were found on 27 February inside surfboard bags at the fence line of a rural property in Bungonia, about 200km south-west of Sydney.
Lamarre-Condon is due to face trial in September, with proceedings expected to last two to three months. His legal representation has been a bit of a revolving door: in November 2024, high-profile defence lawyer John Walford was replaced by Legal Aid, which later withdrew, leaving solicitor Ben Archbold as his current attorney. The former officer was sacked by the NSW police force a few weeks after the alleged murders, having joined in 2019. In a remarkable side note, he previously ran a celebrity blog and posed with A-listers including Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus and Harry Styles - a career path that now seems like a very different kind of fame.
The alleged murder, which occurred just before Mardi Gras, prompted the Mardi Gras board to request police not march in the parade. The police went ahead anyway, albeit in plainclothes. Former police commissioner Karen Webb also faced criticism for describing the case as a 'crime of passion,' later apologizing after fierce backlash, claiming the phrase was meant to distinguish it from a gay hate crime. One might say the whole affair has been a masterclass in how not to handle a high-profile murder case, with the family now adding its own chapter.