Our system let Molly Ticehurst down: NSW Premier Chris Minns launches dual probes into AVO murder

The system let down Molly Ticehurst, NSW Premier Chris Minns said as he launched probes into how her alleged killer was released on bail and whether existing legislation was fit for purpose.

NSW Premier Chris Minns in Sydney on Wednesday. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

The system let down Molly Ticehurst, NSW Premier Chris Minns said as he launched probes into how her alleged killer was released on bail and whether existing legislation was fit for purpose.

The Forbes mother, 28, was found dead on Monday before police charged her former partner Daniel Billings, 29, with domestic-related murder and contravening an apprehended violence order.

That AVO, and the question of whether he should have been released on bail in the first place after being charged earlier this month with sexually assaulting Ms Ticehurst, that forced the government into action.

“To put it simply, there are serious questions for the NSW government to answer as to how this alleged offender was out on bail,” Mr Minns said.

Mr Billings was arrested and hit with 10 charges on April 5, including three counts of rape.

Molly Ticehurst.

A day later, on April 6, a registrar at Dubbo Local Court released him on $5000 bail and placed him on an interim AVO to protect Ms Ticehurst.

Notably, it was a Saturday, and the state government said it would “look closely” at resources available to regional courts to properly determine such high-level bail applications on a weekend, particularly in less well-resourced ­regional courts with less access to magistrates.

“(The government) will also look closely at the role of registrars when it comes to bail applications, on weekends and in regional communities,” Mr Minns said. “The administrative side of bail applications, particularly in regional NSW, especially on the weekends, is as much a structural resourcing issue as it is a law form (issue).”

Mr Minns said he’d seek “urgent advice” in a formal referral to Crown Advocate David Kell SC on the matter, for the government to then determine whether urgent law reform of bail laws was required, particularly relating to domestic-violence offences.

That advice, expected in May, would also consider the decisions leading up to Ms Ticehurst’s death and the use of audiovisual links in making such decisions.

Daniel Billings, who has been charged with the murder of Molly Ticehurst in Forbes.

“It’s important for the government to analyse the circumstances relating to this decision, the legal tests that were applied, and any prospective government reform we may pursue,” Mr Minns said, saying the status quo “wasn’t working”.

NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley will also instruct the Bail Act Monitoring Group to probe the operational framework in the context of Ms Ticehurst's death, and will ask that the state’s Women’s Safety Commissioner be made a member of the body.

“The Crown Advocate will look at the legal aspects of the granting of bail, the BAMG will look at the operational aspects,” Mr Daley said.

The crime scene in Forbes, in central NSW, where Molly Ticehurst was allegedly murdered on Monday. Picture: Hannah Hodgkinson

The tragedy – Ms Ticehurst’s death is among those of at least 25 women murdered this year in Australia – enveloped the regional town, with her father, Tony, lauding his “angel … I could say all the normal stuff people say about how their daughter was beautiful, but Molly really was,” he said.

Liberal NSW leader Mark Speakman said the opposition supported the review, but there remained “questions” the government had left unanswered.

“We need to make sure the terms of reference are not only about whether bail should be granted, but whether when it is granted that particular conditions should be imposed,” he said.

Mr Billings was arrested on Tuesday over Ms Ticehurst’s murder and was refused bail at Dubbo Local Court the same day, to next appear at Parkes Local Court in June.