In short:
Molly Ticehurst's closest friends say they fear women are still at risk, despite tighter bail laws introduced after her murder.
asserted
women → say → murder
The 2024 legislative reforms make it harder for alleged perpetrators to get bail and require ankle monitoring for certain offences.
What's next?
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What → make → offences
The NSW government is being urged to put greater emphasis on women's safety, rather than the rights of alleged offenders.
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government → urge → 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.
"
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they → endure → discovery
The postman arrived with a yellow document.
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postman → arrive → document
We went to the mailbox to get it out, and it was her AVO," Ms Sladek said.
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Sladek → go → it
[The AVO] is meant to be protection, and look where we are, look what we're doing."
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we → mean → what
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.
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worker → kill → partner
He has been sentenced to 28 years in jail after pleading guilty to murder in the NSW Supreme Court in November 2025.
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He → sentence → November
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.
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she → speak → women
Ms Ticehurst endured several months of abuse from Billings before going to the police because she was worried it would put her and her family in greater danger, her father, Tony Ticehurst, said.
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father → endure → danger
"I believe that she didn't have faith in the system and it let her down in the end," Mr Ticehurst said.
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Ticehurst → believe → end
"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.
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he → promise → April
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.
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one → state → 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".
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conditions → include → 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.
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friend → build → moat
"An AVO is not worth the paper it's written on
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it → write → paper
; I wouldn't even waste the ink."
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I → waste → ink
Two weeks after Billings was granted bail, he broke into her home late at night and killed her.
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he → grant → her
Prioritising women's safety
Ms Ticehurst's murder inspired bail reforms which make it harder for alleged perpetrators to get bail.
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perpetrators → prioritise → bail
The changes reverse the presumption of bail, so offenders must show why they should be released, and electronic ankle monitoring is required for serious domestic violence offences.
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monitoring → reverse → 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.
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case → believe → court
"They don't need to be out on the street.
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They → need → street
Let them have their day in court, but let's make these victims feel safe,"Mr Clarke said.
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Clarke → let → court
"I believe Molly definitely did think that nothing was going to stop him," another of Ms Ticehurst's best friends, Gaby Shepherd, said.
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another → believe → friends
"Nothing was going to stop him, whether that was an ankle [monitoring] bracelet or whatever means.
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that → go → him
I truly believe that."
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I → believe → that
Anne-Marie Mioche of CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes (CCWF), which delivers domestic violence support services in western New South Wales, echoed their concerns.
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which → deliver → concerns
"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.
"
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Mioche → have → ball
The onus has to be put on locking up the man, to keep the woman and the children safe."
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onus → have → woman
Figures from the NSW Coroners Court show that there have been 366 domestic violence homicides involving an "intimate partner" since 2000.
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Figures → show → 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.
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who → apprehend → 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.
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offender → enter → politics
"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.
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he → do → him
Ms Mioche believes the legislation and enforcement tools, like AVOs, still favour perpetrators.
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legislation → believe → perpetrators
She said her organisation had instances where an alleged offender was allowed to stay with family near where their former partner lived.
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partner → say → family
"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.
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she → need → perpetrators
"There have been some great changes in recent years, but I actually think it needs to go further, otherwise women will keep dying.
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women → think → years
"If [a man] wants to be free, he has to be a long, long way away.
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he → want → ?
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.
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it → answer → murder
…and 17 more, not listed.
The Aporia