Beau Lamarre-Condon's childhood friend has recalled the smell and feel of a hired van during a two-hour mystery drive, unaware two men's bodies were in the back.
The 31-year-old former senior constable has pleaded not guilty to murdering his ex-partner Jesse Baird and Mr Baird's new lover Luke Davies in February 2024.
Lamarre-Condon says both men were killed in self-defence in Mr Baird's Sydney terrace and his multi-day efforts to dispose of their bodies showed his panic rather than intent to kill.
When his trial resumes on Wednesday, a NSW Supreme Court jury will hear further evidence from a former friend of the 31-year-old, known by the pseudonym Elizabeth Kennedy.
Ms Kennedy was picked up by the accused in a white van on February 21, two days after the killings, but she did not initially notice anything out of the ordinary.
"I could see a blue tarp in the back ... it was just flat," she told the court.
"It had a fresh lemony smell ... like you'd expect from a rental car."
Lamarre-Condon told the friend he had hired the van to move furniture to an apartment in the inner-city, despite still living with his mother in Balmain, the court heard.
But Ms Kennedy said she began to notice things were off during the two-hour drive down to the NSW Southern Highlands.
"It got really cold ... the windows remained down ... the air-conditioning was on full (the whole time)," she said.
"He wouldn't really let me get a word in ... every time I asked how much longer he would change the subject."
Some of those subjects stuck out to Ms Kennedy, who said Lamarre-Condon was cryptic throughout the return trip.
"He asked me about medication (for mental health issues)," she said.
After nearly hitting a bird while driving, Ms Kennedy recalled Lamarre-Condon saying: "You know I'd never hurt an animal, right?"
When they reached Goulburn, Lamarre-Condon made Ms Kennedy buy him an angle grinder and a padlock from Bunnings, she said.
The Crown alleges the angle grinder was later used by Lamarre-Condon to cut a lock on a gate at Cella Farm at Bungonia.
Ms Kennedy was allegedly left by the gate while Lamarre-Condon drove in and attempted to dispose of the men's bodies in a dam using gym weights and quick-set concrete, the Crown claims.
The childhood friend's evidence on Tuesday delved into what she described as paranoid, jealous and obsessive behaviours.
She recalled being sent an image of Mr Baird having sex with another man, allegedly taken by Lamarre-Condon from outside his ex's bedroom window.
At another time, Ms Kennedy said Lamarre-Condon asked if she knew where to get a silencer for a gun.
He later told her he had poured water into the diesel tank of Mr Baird's car to ruin a trip he was taking, she told the court.
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