Daniel Billings is now in custody.Credit:Facebook
The alleged murder case came briefly before the Orange Local Court on Tuesday morning. The court heard that Billings had been released on bail just 15 days before the alleged murder over a series of allegations of sexual assault against Ticehurst. He had been charged with three counts of sexual intercourse without consent,four counts of stalking and harassment,two counts of damaging or destroying property and one count of animal cruelty.
According to court records,Dubbo Local Court registrar L. Cusack placed him on an interim apprehended violence order and released him on $5000 bail on April 6.
Billings did not apply for bail on Tuesday and it was formally refused. During the hearing,magistrate David Day also formally revoked Billings’ bail on the earlier charges. The matter was adjourned to Parkes Local Court on June 20.
The circumstances leading up to the alleged murder immediately sparked anger in the western NSW town. On Tuesday,Ticehurst’s father,Tony,said,“someone’s got to be responsible” for his daughter’s death.
“If they’d have kept him in jail as the police wanted,we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” he told Nine News.
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During a press conference on Tuesday morning,Minns said he had heard Tony Ticehurst’s comments and said that the “heartbreak and anger he felt will be shared by everyone in NSW today,and it will be devastating for the town.
“Everybody in this state is with them today as they go through the realisation of a horrible,terrible crime,” he said. “I did want to acknowledge that there’s genuine,genuine community concern,there’s a family that is angry and heartbroken,there’s a community that’s massively concerned.”
Minns met Daley on Tuesday to get a better understanding of the circumstances leading up to the alleged attack. Minns conceded that there were “genuine” questions to answer over why Billings had been granted bail just 15 days earlier.
“Of course,the community and the public have questions they want answered … I can understand real community concern about the circumstances related to that decision. I can assure you the NSW government is seeking all available information,” he said.
On Monday,Central West Police District crime manager Detective Inspector Jason Darcy said that Ticehurst and Billings had previously been in a relationship. He said the crime scene was “brutal”.
He confirmed police were investigating claims that Billings visited Ticehurst’s workplace last week and was moved on. “That’s a line of inquiry. Investigations are still alive and ongoing,” he said.
No to Violence chief executive Phillip Ripper said the government’s review needed to address serious issues within the criminal justice system.
“We know women are at far greater risk of murder or severe violence after ending an abusive relationship,” he said.
“We also know that the risk to women and children is also heightened following the release of men from custody.”
Ripper said with coercive control offences coming into force in just a couple of months in NSW,victim-survivors needed to be able to trust the court system to keep them safe.
“No to Violence strongly advocates for the important role of court-mandated behaviour change and intervention services as a way of keeping men who use violence in view of the courts,police and corrections while also providing ongoing support to victim/survivors and families,” he said.
- with Daniella White
Support is available from theNational Sexual Assault,Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).