The killer of childcare worker Molly Ticehurst has been sentenced to 28 years in jail.
Warning: This article includes descriptions of domestic violence and murder.
Daniel Billings, 31, was sentenced in the Orange Supreme Court today by Justice Natalie Adams, who imposed a non-parole period of 20 years.
He broke into her Forbes home through a bedroom window just before 11:30pm on April 21, 2024, and stabbed his ex-partner several times, including to the face and neck.
Molly Ticehurst was 28 years old when she was murdered. (Supplied: Gofundme)
“Mr Billings was aware that Ms Ticehurst had previously told police about her fears that he would break through the window and get to her before police could get there,” Justice Adams said.
“Mr Billings ultimately chose to carry out the fatal assault by doing exactly what he threatened to do.
“It must have been absolutely terrifying for Ms Ticehurst to die knowing her worst fears had been realised.”
BIllings pleaded guilty to the offence in November last year.
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He killed the mother of one while he was on bail for charges against Ms Ticehurst, including sexual assault, stalking and intimidation.
The 28-year-old had an apprehended domestic violence order (AVO) against him.
Ms Ticehurst’s murder was the catalyst for changes to domestic violence bail laws in New South Wales.
“Nothing I do in sentencing Mr Billings today, nor anything I say in explaining the reasons for that sentence, can bring Molly Ticehurst back or provide her family with any meaningful closure or relief,” Justice Adams told the court.
“All I can do is acknowledge their grief and sentence Mr Billings according to law.”
Justice Natalie Adams has handed down her sentence for the murder of Molly Ticehurst. (ABC News)
Justice Adams noted the victim impact statements read to the court during last week’s sentencing hearing, including one from Ms Ticehurst’s father.
“Mr Ticehurst … expressed the immense pain of losing his daughter Molly,” she said.
“He lives now with ongoing trauma, struggling to sleep at night and replaying what happened over and over in his mind.
“He spoke to how much Molly’s death has impacted on her son, who experiences nightmares about also being stabbed in his bedroom.”
Molly Ticehurst’s father, Tony Ticehurst, arriving at the Supreme Court in Orange ahead of sentencing. (ABC Central West: Hamish Cole)
The sentence was backdated to April 20, 2024 and will expire in 2052.
Billings will first be eligible for parole on April 19, 2044.
He stood and nodded as the sentence was read out, while Ms Ticehurst’s mother smiled from the public gallery.
Murder at ‘high end’ of seriousness
Justice Adams said the “brutal attack” fell at the “high end” of the range for murder in her assessment of its objective seriousness.
She found Billings “planned and obsessed” over the offence, took the day off work and made numerous recordings foreshadowing that he would harm her.
A photo of Daniel Billings taken the day after he killed Molly Ticehurst. (Supplied)
“Overall, I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt …that by the time Mr Billings set out on the one-hour drive from Parkes to Forbes, armed with a hunting knife, and recorded himself singing along to the Johnny Cash song, that he planned to kill Ms Ticehurst.
“I reject any suggestion by Mr Billings that he just went there to talk to her.
“There was realistically no prospect of Ms Ticehurst engaging in calm conversation with Mr Billings when he had just broken through her window with a knife, in breach of his bail and AVO.”
Justice Adams told the court Billings killed Ms Ticehurst in retribution for making allegations of sexual assault against him to the police.
A NSW Corrections van carrying Daniel Billings arrived at the Supreme Court in Orange ahead of his sentencing for murder. (ABC Central West: Hamish Cole)
She described her murder as a “very serious public justice offence”, because a witness to a sexual assault allegation was killed before it could be tested in court.
‘No time enough’ for supporters
Aidan Clarke, a childhood friend of Molly Ticehurst, said the community would “always grieve” her loss.
“We finally have come to the end of this process and now we move onto the next,” he said.
“Learning to live without her.”
Molly Ticehurst’s friend Aidan Clarke speaks to the media outside court. (ABC News)
Mr Clarke said life imprisonment for Billings was the outcome her friends and family wanted, but realised towards the end of sentencing it was not going to eventuate.
“There’s nothing that will bring Molly back and no time was ever going to be enough,” he said.
Two supporters of Molly Ticehurst arrive at the Supreme Court in Orange on Friday. (ABC Central West: Hamish Cole)