Daniel Billings, 29, is accused of brutally murdering his ex-girlfriend, Molly Ticehurst, 28, in Forbes, in central-western NSW, on Monday. Billings was already facing charges of rape, stalking, and cruelty against Ticehurst and was out on bail at the time of the murder.
Police arrested Billings at a property in Fifield, 100km away from the crime scene. He has also been charged with breaching an apprehended violence order and failing to comply with bail conditions.
Billings did not apply for bail during a brief mention of the case in Orange Local Court on Tuesday morning, and it was refused by magistrate David Day. Day also formally revoked Billings’ bail on earlier charges, including three counts of sexual intercourse without consent and four counts of stalking and intimidating Ticehurst in recent months.
The court heard that Billings had not entered pleas to the earlier charges. “That’s not good enough,” Day said.
Billings remains in custody at Parkes police station and did not appear in court. Detective inspector Jason Darcy said Billings and Ticehurst had been in a relationship. Darcy described the killing as “brutal”, adding that it had left Ticehurst’s family devastated.
“Naturally they’re just distraught,” he told reporters on Monday.
Ticehurst was a childcare worker in Forbes. Premier Chris Minns said Ticehurst had done everything right in seeking an apprehended violence order. “We need to understand what happened, the immediate run-up to this alleged crime and that’s exactly what we’re doing this morning,” he said on Tuesday.
Billings is due to appear in Parkes Local Court on 20 June.
