Inside the lavish Philippines wedding of Molly Ticehurst’s accused murderer – as ex-wife’s family break their silence after Daniel Billings was charged over Forbes death

EXCLUSIVE

The embattled ex-wife of accused killer Daniel Billings is “coping as best she can” after he was accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend Molly Ticehurst.

Maika Gabriel married Billings in November 2018 in Portico de Busto in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines, but the couple’s relationship did not last.

Portico de Busto is described on its website as ‘probably the most photographed and most chosen best location in’ [the province of] Bulacan’.

A video filmed after the couple took their vows showed them kissing passionately on a balcony in their wedding clothes, with fireworks in the background.

Ms Gabriel now lives with her Philippine-born parents in Dalby, 200km west of Brisbane, and all three work together at a meat processing plant in another city.

She changed her last name to Billings after she married, but has gone back to using Gabriel. Mrs. Gabriel has a son with Billings.

Since learning on Monday that her former husband had been arrested in NSW’s central west, Ms Gabriel has been trying to cope with the knowledge that the man she married is an alleged murderer.

“It’s all a lot for us at the moment,” Ms Gabriel’s sister told Daily Mail Australia. ‘She’s dealing with it the best she can.

“She doesn’t want to comment on anything.”

Ms Gabriel’s mother said her daughter was supported by friends and family.

“It’s very difficult for everyone,” Ms. Gabriel said. ‘We also have our grandson.

‘It’s very complicated. It’s a very difficult situation at the moment.’

Ms Ticehurst’s body was located in the home she once shared with Billings in Forbes, about 370km west of Sydney, after she was reportedly murdered sometime between midnight and 1.50am on Monday.

Concerns had been raised about the welfare of the 28-year-old teacher’s assistant, whose 18-month relationship with Billings reportedly ended in July last year.

Billings was arrested in Fifield, about an hour’s drive from Forbes, hours after his ex-girlfriend’s body was found.

At the time of Ms Ticehurst’s death, 29-year-old Billings was on bail for allegedly raping and stalking the mother of a child.

Mrs. Ticehurst’s six-year-old son, born before she met Billings, is about the same age as Mrs. Gabriel’s son.

It is understood that Billings and Mrs Gabriel lived together at her parents’ address in Dalby during their marriage and after their divorce he continued to use that address on official documents.

Neighbors of the Gabriel family recall seeing Billings occasionally at the property until two years ago, sometimes working on a motorcycle.

The heavily tattooed amateur boxer had worked for a time at a nearby pigsty in the Western Downs region.

Asked about her experience with Billings, Ms Gabriel’s sister said: ‘I’d rather not comment at this time, I’m sorry.’

Dalby has a relatively large Filipino population: 2.2 percent of the city’s residents were born in the Philippines, the most common foreign place of birth.

A Filipino neighbor of Ms. Gabriel said she had worked at the same pigsty as Billings, but they had different roles and she knew little about his life.

Until his arrest, Billings was employed by oil drilling company Resolution Drilling, which is based a 25-minute drive north of Forbes in Parkes.

For the past six months, he had been sharing a rental home with other workers in the same city.

Daily Mail Australia understands Billings briefly reunited with Ms Ticehurst in December last year but the relationship broke down again.

On April 5, he was charged with three counts of rape, four of stalking and intimidation and two of destruction of property.

The alleged victim in both cases was Mrs Ticehurst and Billings was also charged with aggravated animal cruelty involving her dachshund.

Police argued in court that Billings posed a risk to Mrs. Ticehurst, but a court clerk granted him a $5,000 bond.

Billings was also the subject of an apprehended violence order and was banned from entering Forbes or approaching Ms Ticehurst’s workplace.

Ms Ticehurst’s father, Tony, said his daughter had been afraid of her ex-boyfriend after he was granted bail.

“She left for the first week of AVO,” Mr Ticehurst told Nine. “He thought if he did anything, it would be within that week. She said she was on edge and nervous and couldn’t sleep.’

When Billings appeared before Orange Local Court on Tuesday charged with murder, his bail was revoked. He will appear in court again on June 20.

Billings’ mother, Eileen Ogilvie, and a man believed to be his stepfather emerged angry from a house in Cessnock, NSW, on Thursday.

“We have nothing to say,” they shouted, before the stepfather urged journalists to “take to the streets.”