'Promised the world': Molly Ticehurst's friends say the system failed her

In short:

Molly Ticehurst's closest friends say they fear women are still at risk, despite tighter bail laws introduced after her murder.

The 2024 legislative reforms make it harder for alleged perpetrators to get bail and require ankle monitoring for certain offences.

What's next?

The NSW government is being urged to put greater emphasis on women's safety, rather than the rights of alleged offenders.

As Molly Ticehurst's mother, Kate Shaw, and best friend, Meg Sladek, endured the devastating task of packing up her house after her murder, they made a shocking discovery.

"The postman arrived with a yellow document. We went to the mailbox to get it out and it was her AVO," Ms Sladek said.

"Kate's words were: 'Fat lot of good that was, wasn't it?'

"The rush of blood through your body in that moment. [The AVO] is meant to be protection and look where we are, look what we're doing."

The 28-year-old childcare worker was killed in her home at Forbes in central western New South Wales in April 2024 by her former partner, Daniel Billings, 31.

He has been sentenced to 28 years in jail after pleading guilty to murder in the NSW Supreme Court in November 2025.

Her family and friends have spoken exclusively to ABC's Australian Story about her experience, and how they believe she was failed by a system designed to protect women and children.

Ms Ticehurst endured several months of abuse from Billings before going to police because she was worried it would put her and her family in greater danger, her father, Tony Ticehurst, said.

"I believe that she didn't have faith in the system and it let her down in the end," Mr Ticehurst said.

"She was promised the world and given a street map."

An apprehended violence order, or AVO, was served on Daniel Billings after he was charged with sexual assault and domestic violence offences on April 5, 2024.

A court transcript of his bail hearing at Dubbo Local Court on April 6 states one of the AVO's conditions was a 10-kilometre exclusion zone from Ms Ticehurst's home in Forbes.

Billings's bail conditions included "not to enter Forbes for any reason" and "not to contact or try to go near or contact Molly Ticehurst".

"We didn't build the Great Wall of China around Forbes and say 'don't come in'; we didn't build a moat," Ms Ticehurst's childhood friend, Aidan Clarke, said.

"An AVO is not worth the paper it's written on, I wouldn't even waste the ink."

Two weeks after Billings was granted bail, he broke into her home late at night and killed her.

Prioritising women's safety

Ms Ticehurst's murder inspired bail reforms which make it harder for alleged perpetrators to get bail.

The changes reverse the presumption of the onus of bail, so offenders must demonstrate why they should be released, and electronic ankle monitoring is required for serious domestic violence offences.

Ms Ticehurst's friends are proud of this legislative reform but ultimately believe the only way to ensure women's safety is for offenders to remain in custody until their case is heard in court.

"They don't need to be out on the street. Let them have their day in court, but let's make these victims feel safe,"Mr Clarke said.

"I believe Molly definitely did think that nothing was going to stop him," another of Ms Ticehurst's best friends, Gaby Shepherd, said.

"Nothing was going to stop him, whether that was an ankle [monitoring] bracelet or whatever means. I truly believe that."

Their concerns are being echoed by Anne-Marie Mioche from CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes (CCWF), which delivers domestic violence support services in western New South Wales.

"Police don't have a crystal ball, so they can't tell whether the threat is going to be acted on and we don't either," Ms Mioche said.

"The onus has to be put on locking up the man, to keep the woman and the children safe."

Figures from the NSW Coroners Court show that there have been 366 domestic violence homicides involving an "intimate partner" since 2000.

An apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO), which is specific to people who are or were in a domestic relationship, was in place in 88 of those murders.

The NSW independent member for Orange, Phil Donato, who was a police prosecutor before entering state politics, said AVOs and ADVOs were only effective if an alleged offender was willing to comply.

"Ultimately if an offender … is determined to do what he did, an AVO or bail conditions is not going to deter him or stop him," he said.

Ms Mioche believes the legislation and enforcement tools, like AVOs, are still weighted towards perpetrators.

She said her organisation had instances where an alleged offender was allowed to stay with family near where their former partner lived.

"The laws need to change in favour of the victims of domestic violence and their rights, as opposed to the civil rights of the perpetrators," she said.

"There have been some great changes in recent years, but I actually think it needs to go further, otherwise women will keep dying.

"If [a man] wants to be free, he has to be a long, long way away. In another state, for example."

The NSW government did not answer the ABC's questions about the effectiveness of AVOs but said it had made "significant reforms to protect victim-survivors of domestic and family violence" since Ms Ticehurst's murder.

In a statement, a spokesperson said crime data showed that the legislative reforms were "working to help community safe with record remand numbers".

"We know domestic and family violence still occurs at unacceptable levels in the community and there is more work to do."

24-hour policing lacking

A central plank of NSW's bail reforms is the use of electronic ankle monitoring for certain offenders.

Authorities are alerted if a perpetrator breaches an exclusion zone set out in their AVO.

Ms Ticehurst's home town of Forbes, like many in rural and regional Australia, does not have a police station that is open 24 hours a day.

At certain times of the night, the closest overnight station is 30 kilometres away at Parkes.

"There's nothing that acts better as a deterrent than knowing that there's police in town that can respond quickly," Mr Donato said.

"Criminals who know they've got 20, 30 minutes before police arrive, even under lights and sirens, that gives them so much more confidence to commit crimes."

Ms Ticehurst's friends believe Daniel Billings knew that there were times of the day when Forbes Police Station was not staffed.

In the days before Ms Ticehurst laid charges, he told her:

"I will come in the middle of the night … The police won't stop me. I will get to you quicker than they will."

Mayor Phyllis Miller said she was fighting to have 24-hour policing restored at Forbes.

"Women in rural and regional New South Wales or Australia are not safe," Cr Miller said.

"We do not have enough police."

NSW Police and the state's police minister, Yasmin Catley, declined an interview.

In a statement, a spokesperson for NSW Police said smaller stations had a "variety of operating hours supplemented by after hours/on-call arrangements".

"This, in effect ensures an appropriate police response is provided to regional communities 24/7.

"The safety and wellbeing of the community remains our priority and the community can be assured that all police vehicles serve as mobile police stations and can respond based on demand."