The family of Molly Ticehurst’s accused killer, Daniel Billings, gathered at a somber gathering in New South Wales’ Hunter Valley as questions arise over a court decision to free him.
Eileen Ogilvie, the alleged killer’s unflappable mother, and a man believed to be her stepfather stormed out of a house in Cessnock on Thursday, shouting: “We have nothing to say.”
Billings’ stepfather then attempted to order reporters off his street, telling them to “go away,” before other younger relatives, believed to be Daniel’s sister and half-brother, began arriving. to the house.
Billings is accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Mrs Ticehurst, 28, at a house in Young Street, Forbes. about 137 kilometers west of Sydneyshortly before 2 a.m. Monday.
Police charged the 29-year-old with murder after finding Ticehurst’s body in the home she had shared with him during an 18-month relationship which ended in July last year.
At the time of the alleged murder, Billings was facing multiple alleged charges in relation to Ms Ticehurst, but had been released on bail following a decision by a judicial officer.
The mother of accused killer Daniel Billings, Eileen Ogilvie, looked somber at a Hunter Valley home on Thursday but declined to comment on her son’s alleged crimes.
A man believed to be Daniel Billings’ stepfather became angry and ordered the media to “get out” before shouting: “I have nothing to say.”
Ogilvie’s son Daniel Billings (above), 29, has been charged with the alleged murder of his ex-girlfriend, Molly Ticehurst.
It has been revealed that Billings was free to roam (and allegedly enter Forbes in contravention of a restraining order) following a court ruling, followed by a second just days before Ms Ticehurst was allegedly murdered.
Billings had been accused of allegedly raping the young mother three times, stalking and harassing her four times, breaking her car windows and assaulting her 12-week-old dachshund.
According nine newspapersWhen he appeared in court on Saturday in Dubbo to apply for bail on the charges, the presiding officer was L Cusack, a registrar, rather than a senior magistrate, because magistrates do not work at weekends.
Registrars are trained to hear bail applications but, unlike magistrates, do not need to have a law degree.
The alleged murder of Molly Ticehurst occurred after an alleged potentially fatal error due to a court decision to free the man now accused of the crime.
The family of accused Daniel Billings gather at a house in Cessnock where his somber mother and stepfather have refused to comment on their son’s arrest.
On April 6, police argued to the recorder that Billings posed a risk to his ex-partner and had threatened her.
However, the recorder agreed to release him on bail, imposing a $5,000 bail and a restrained violence order on Ms Ticehurst’s behalf, including the condition that he not enter the town of Forbes at all.
Last Thursday, the charges were raised again before a magistrate at Dubbo court, but this time police did not question whether he should be returned to custody.
Just under four days later, Ms Ticehurst’s body was discovered in a house in Forbes.
Police arrested Billings, who had allegedly fled to a property in Fifield, more than 100 kilometers from Forbes, and is now on remand and in custody.
Mrs Ticehurst’s grieving father, Tony Ticehurst, told Nine: “If he had been kept in jail like the police wanted, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
The alleged failure of the system has sparked calls for an urgent review of the practice of allowing registrars to decide bail applications for serious offences.
WhatsNew2Day Australia can reveal Billings worked for a drilling company in nearby Parkes, but only had $1.60 on him when he was arrested over those alleged incidents on April 5.
The traditional boxer and former amateur had been living in the nearby town of Parkes after leaving Forbes following his separation from Ms Ticehurst.
Billings has a sister and two half-brothers and had lived in the town of Dalby, near Toowoomba, 200 kilometers northwest of Brisbane, before returning to New South Wales, where his siblings reside.
Billings will appear in Orange Local Court on June 20.