Daniel Billings, 31, was sentenced to 28 years in jail on Friday for the murder of Molly Ticehurst, a 28-year-old childcare worker, in a brutal attack that Justice Natalie Adams described as an act of revenge for Ticehurst reporting sexual assault allegations to police. The non-parole period is 20 years, meaning Billings will be eligible for parole in April 2044.
Background and attack
Ticehurst was found dead in her pyjamas at her home in Forbes, in New South Wales' central west, in the early hours of 22 April 2024. Billings, her former boyfriend, broke into her bedroom and used a hunting knife to stab her 15 times in an attack that lasted less than a minute. He had pleaded guilty to murder after more than 500 days of legal negotiations, which led to the sexual assault charges being dropped in November 2025.
Justice Adams, sitting in the NSW supreme court in Orange, found Billings' offending was in the high range of seriousness, given he murdered her in the exact way he had long threatened to do. “It must have been absolutely terrifying for Ms Ticehurst to die knowing her worst fears were realised,” Justice Adams said.
Threats and legal history
According to police documents, Billings had repeatedly threatened to smash into Ticehurst's bedroom and kill her in the months after she ended their on-and-off relationship in December 2023. Ticehurst reported this abuse to police, who charged him with several counts of sexual assault and a series of domestic violence stalking and intimidation charges. He was also charged with killing Ticehurst's dachshund puppy with a hammer after an earlier break-up.
Police took out a provisional apprehended violence order against Billings, barring him from entering Forbes. However, Billings, who previously lived in Dalby, Queensland, spent one night in police custody but was freed on bail by a local court registrar a fortnight before the murder, as there was no judge on duty that weekend.
Revenge and recordings
Upon his conditional release, Billings became enraged and obsessed with a belief he had been wrongfully accused of rape. He viewed himself as a victim of injustice, also angered by his claim police threw his Queensland State of Origin boxing team singlet in the dirt. In a series of chilling videos Billings recorded on his phone in the hours before the murder, he detailed his plans of harming Ticehurst in revenge.
“Molly Jean Ticehurst, well, you've done it, you've succeeded in whatever you wanted out of all of this, whether I get to you tonight or not,” Billings snarled in one of the recordings made on the afternoon of 21 April.
Sentencing and impact
Justice Adams sentenced Billings to a maximum term of 28 years, finding he acted out of retribution, revenge and “extreme hatred” for Ticehurst, angry after she reported the rape allegations. The murder was also a serious public justice offence, as Billings killed the only witness in his potential rape trial, the judge said. Justice Adams looked to the Ticehurst family and offered her condolences: “It is clear that Molly's senseless death has had a significant impact on those who loved her.”
Gaby Shepherd held up a large image of her slain friend when Billings entered the courtroom and sat in the dock. He did not look in her direction, instead staring straight ahead and shaking his head any time the sexual assault allegations were mentioned by the judge. Prosecutors did not seek a life sentence for Billings.
Charges of property damage, the animal cruelty offence and breaching the apprehended violence order were taken into consideration in the sentence. Ticehurst's murder intensified a national campaign against domestic and gendered violence, sparking changes to NSW laws, including stripping registrars of the power to grant bail, “show cause” thresholds for domestic violence-related bail applications and electronic monitoring for accused people.
