EXCLUSIVE
The distraught ex-wife of accused killer Daniel Billings is “coping as best she can” after he was accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend Molly Ticehurst.
Maika Gabriel married Billings in Portico de Busto in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines in November 2018, but the couple’s relationship did not last.
Portico de Busto is described on its website as “probably the most photographed and most frequently chosen best place in (the province of) Bulacan.”
A video filmed after the couple took their vows showed them kissing passionately on a balcony in their wedding attire, with fireworks exploding in the background.
The distraught ex-wife of accused killer Daniel Billings is “coping as best she can” after he was accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend Molly Ticehurst. Maika Gabriel appears in the photo of her at her wedding to Billings
Mrs Gabriel now lives with her Filipino-born parents in Dalby, 200 kilometers west of Brisbane, and the three work together at a meat processing plant in another town.
She changed her last name to Billings after she married, but reverted to Gabriel. Mrs. Gabriel has a son with Billings.
Since learning of her former husband’s arrest in central western New South Wales on Monday, Gabriel has been trying to come to terms with the knowledge that the man she married is a suspected murderer.
“It’s a lot for us to take in right now,” Gabriel’s sister told WhatsNew2Day Australia. “She’s coping the best she can.
“She doesn’t want to comment on anything.”
Gabriel’s mother said her daughter had the support of friends and family.
“It’s very difficult for everyone,” Mrs. Gabriel said. ‘We also have our grandson.
‘It’s very complicated. “It’s a very difficult situation right now.”
Maika Gabriel married Billings in Portico de Busto in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines in November 2018 (above), the couple’s relationship did not last
Portico de Busto is described on its website as “probably the most photographed and most frequently chosen best place in (the province of) Bulacan.” Pictured is the Billings wedding.
Ms Ticehurst’s body was located inside the house she once shared with Billings in Forbes, about 370 kilometers west of Sydney, and she was allegedly murdered sometime between midnight and 1.50am on Monday.
Concerns had been raised for the welfare of the 28-year-old teaching assistant, whose 18-month relationship with Billings allegedly ended in July last year.
Billings was arrested in Fifield, about an hour’s drive from Forbes, hours after his ex-girlfriend’s body was found.
At the time of Ticehurst’s death, Billings, 29, was out on bail for allegedly raping and harassing the mother of one.
Ticehurst’s six-year-old son, born before she met Billings, is about the same age as Gabriel’s son.
WhatsNew2Day Australia understands Billings briefly got back together with Ms Ticehurst in December last year, but the relationship broke down again.
It is understood Billings and Ms Gabriel lived together at his parents’ Dalby address during their marriages and after their separation he still used that address on official documents.
Neighbors of the Gabriel family remember occasionally seeing Billings on the property, sometimes working on a motorcycle, until two years ago.
The heavily tattooed amateur boxer had worked for a time at a nearby pigsty in the Western Downs region.
When asked about her experiences with Billings, Gabriel’s sister said, “I would really prefer not to comment at this time, I’m sorry.”
Dalby has a relatively large Filipino population: 2.2 percent of the city’s residents were born in the Philippines, the most common place of foreign birth.
A Filipino neighbor of Gabriel’s said she had worked in the same piggery as Billings, but that they had different roles and she knew little about his life.
Ms Ticehurst’s body was located inside the home she used to share with Billings in Forbes, about 370 kilometers west of Sydney, in the early hours of Monday.
Until his arrest, Billings had been employed by oil drilling company Resolution Drilling, which is based a 25-minute drive north of Forbes in Parkes.
For six months he had been sharing rented accommodation with other workers from the same town.
WhatsNew2Day Australia understands Billings briefly got back together with Ticehurst in December last year, but the relationship broke down again.
On April 5, he was charged with three counts of rape, four of harassment and intimidation, and two of destruction of property.
The alleged victim in each case was Ms Ticehurst and Billings was also charged with an aggravated offense of animal cruelty involving her dachshund.
Mrs Gabriel, pictured with her son, now lives with her parents in Dalby, 200 kilometers west of Brisbane, and the three of them work together at a meat processing plant in another town.
Police argued in court that Billings posed a risk to Mrs Ticehurst, but a registrar granted him $5,000 bail.
Billings was also made the subject of a detained violence order and was not allowed to enter Forbes or go near Ms Ticehurst’s workplace.
Ticehurst’s father Tony said his daughter had feared her ex-boyfriend after she was granted bail.
“She left during the first week of the AVO,” Mr Ticehurst told Nine. ‘Thinking that if she was going to do something, it would be within that week. She said that she was cautious and nervous and that she couldn’t sleep.
When Billings appeared at Orange Local Court on Tuesday charged with murder, his bail was revoked. His next court appearance will be June 20.
Billings’ mother, Eileen Ogilvie, and a man believed to be her stepfather stormed out of a house in Cessnock, New South Wales, on Thursday.
“We have nothing to say,” they shouted, before the stepfather urged journalists to “get off” the street.