Man charged with domestic murder of Forbes woman Molly Ticehurst was on bail for other offences
A man accused of murdering his exgirlfriend in regional New South Wales while on bail for rape and stalking charges against her will remain behind bars.
Daniel Billings has been charged with the domestic violence murder of Molly Ticehurst, 28, whose body was found in a Forbes homes in the early hours of Monday.
Investigations led police to a property 100km away, in Fifield, where Billings was arrested.
The 29-year-old, from Dalby in Queensland, was charged with murder and breaching an apprehended violence order and failing to comply with bail conditions.
During a brief mention in Orange local court on Tuesday morning, Billings did not apply for bail and it was refused by magistrate David Day.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Day also revoked Billings’ bail regarding the earlier charges, including three counts of sexual intercourse without consent and four counts of stalking and intimidating Ticehurst in recent months.
The earlier charges further included two counts of recklessly destroying a car window and a pedestal fan at her house and aggravated animal cruelty against her 12-week-old dachshund puppy.
Billings had not entered pleas that were due on those charges, the court heard. “That’s not good enough,” Day said on Tuesday.
Billings remained in custody at Parkes police station and did not appear in court.
Before the court appearance, Det Insp Jason Darcy said Billings and Ticehurst had been in a relationship.
Darcy described the killing as “brutal”, adding it had left Ticehurst’s family devastated. “Naturally, they’re just distraught,” he told reporters on Monday.
Ticehurst was a childcare worker in Forbes.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said: “We need to understand what happened, the immediate run-up to this alleged crime and that’s exactly what we’re doing this morning.”
Billings was scheduled to next appear in Parkes local court on 20 June.