The man accused of murdering Molly Ticehurst has faced court in regional New South Wales two months after the 28-year-old was found dead in her Forbes home.
Daniel Billings, 29, appeared before the magistrate Brett Thomas at Parkes local court on Thursday morning via video link.
Billings, wearing a prison-issued green jumper, did not speak during the brief hearing but nodded to indicate he could hear and understood what was happening.
He appeared from a correctional centre within Goulburn jail where he is awaiting trial.
The case was adjourned for two months to give the prosecutors time to compile the brief of evidence. It is due to be handed to Billing’s legal aid lawyer, Diane Elston, by 15 August.
Billings has been charged with the domestic violence murder of the Forbes mother after she was found dead in her home in the early hours of 22 April this year.
Her former partner was arrested about half an hour later at a Fifield property 100km away.
He is also facing charges of knowingly breaching an apprehended domestic violence order and failing to comply with bail conditions.
At the time of the alleged murder, Billings was on bail for charges of sexual intercourse without consent and of stalking and intimidating Ticehurst. He had also been charged with destroying a car window and a pedestal fan at Ticehurt’s house.
Police have further alleged Billings committed an act of aggravated cruelty on a 12-week-old dachshund pup, according to court documents.
The offences were alleged to have occurred between June 2023 and April 2024.
Billings was released on bail by a registrar at Dubbo local court on 6 April – a fortnight before the alleged murder of Ticehurst.
Since then, the NSW government has introduced new laws to change how bail is handed in alleged domestic violence cases. Under the reforms, alleged offenders released on bail would, in most cases, be required to wear an ankle monitor.
Billings is due back in court on 22 August.
