A man accused of raping his ex-girlfriend three times, breaking her car windows and attacking her dog was granted bail because he had no criminal record, court documents show.
Daniel Billings, 29, allegedly murdered Molly Ticehurst, 28, at the house they used to share in Forbes, 375 kilometers west of Sydney, sometime between midnight and 1.50am on Monday.
The couple were in a relationship for about 18 months until July 2023, but got back together briefly in December of that year.
At the time of the alleged murder, Billings had already faced Dubbo court over a series of alleged incidents involving Ms Ticehurst between January and April this year.
He allegedly raped her three times, stalked and harassed her four times, smashed her car windows and attacked her 12-week-old dachshund, but was granted bail by a Dubbo Bail Court registrar on April 6.
According to a transcript of his bail application, seen by WhatsNew2Day Australia, Billings was allowed to roam the streets because he had no criminal record.
Molly Ticehurst is pictured with her six-year-old son. She was supposedly murdered on Monday.
The bail hearing took place for 12 minutes before a registrar, a court employee who is trained to hear bail applications but is not required to have a law degree like a magistrate.
According to the transcript, police prosecutor Sergeant Knight explained in detail why Billings should not be allowed bail.
Sergeant Knight described Billings’ behavior in court as “quite worrying” and “indicative of characteristics of domestic violence offenders that we often see come to light following the most disturbing findings about his conduct.”
He said: “That is, an inability to leave the relationship.”
‘A feeling of possessiveness and jealousy over women. Repeated threats regarding… her not being with someone else.’
He said specific threats included knowing where he lived and “coming in through the window.”
“This is what puts victims of domestic violence in a different category than those victims who are anonymous or the target of crimes of personal violence because their anonymity provides protection,” he continued.
‘Victims of domestic violence do not enjoy that anonymity and it is precisely this issue that generates concern about the current conduct of the accused. “These are the most serious types of accusations.”
Sgt Knight told the court he believed there was a “real issue” that Billings could interfere with Ms Ticehurst’s safety.
Billings’ attorney, Bridget Byrnes, told the court the allegations were serious, but said her client denied the allegations against him and was entitled to the presumption of innocence.
More to come