A man accused of raping his ex-girlfriend three times, smashing her car windows and attacking her dog was granted bail because he had no criminal history, court documents show.
Daniel Billings, 29, allegedly killed Molly Ticehurst, 28 at the house they used to share in Forbes, 375 kilometers west of Sydney, sometime between midnight and 1.50am on Monday.
The pair dated for around 18 months until July 2023, but briefly reunited in December that year.
At the time of the alleged murder, Billings had already appeared in court in Dubbo over a series of alleged incidents involving Ms Ticehurst between January and April this year.
He allegedly raped her three times, stalked and harassed her four times, smashed her car windows and attacked her 12-week-old dachshund, but bail was granted by a clerk at Dubbo Bail Court on April 6.
According to a transcript of his bail application seen by Daily Mail Australia, Billings – who attended the hearing via audiovisual link dressed in a work shirt – was allowed to roam the streets because he had no criminal history.
Molly Ticehurst is pictured with her six-year-old son. She was allegedly murdered on Monday
The bail hearing was heard for 12 minutes before a court clerk – a court employee who is trained to handle bail applications but is not required to have a law degree like a magistrate.
According to the transcript, police prosecutor Sergeant Knight made a detailed argument as to why Billings should not be released on bail.
Sergeant Knight described Billings’ behavior to the court as ‘quite worrying’ and ‘indicative of characteristics of domestic abuse perpetrators that we often see emerge following the most disturbing conclusions about their behaviour’.
He said, “That is, an inability to let go of the relationship.”
‘A feeling of possessiveness and jealousy over the woman. Repeated threats regarding… her not being with someone else.”
He said specific threats included knowing where she lived and “coming through the window.”
“This is what puts victims of domestic violence in a different category, as opposed to victims who are anonymous or victims of crimes of personal violence, because their anonymity provides protection,” he continued.
‘Victims of domestic violence are not afforded such anonymity and it is that issue that raises concerns about the suspect’s continued behaviour. These are the most serious types of allegations.”
Sergeant Knight told the court he believed there was a ‘real concern’ that Billings could interfere with Ms Ticehurst’s safety.
Billings’ lawyer Bridget Byrnes told the court the allegations were serious, but said her client denied the allegations against him and was entitled to the presumption of innocence.
She said he had a four-year-old son in Queensland but was unlikely to flee the state in light of his criminal charges because he had a job at Resolution Drilling for three years.
‘I’ll make a note of that [Ms Ticehurst] “Residing in Forbes, Mr. Billings informs me that if released on bail he can comply with the condition of not entering that city or going within 15 miles,” she told the court.
“He can follow any AVO there is… And any other conditions the court deems necessary to restore his liberty.”
More to come