Mother of murdered childcare worker Molly Ticehurst demands release of domestic violence report

The mother of murdered childcare worker Molly Ticehurst is demanding the release of a report into her daughter's dealings with a NSW government domestic violence prevention scheme.

Kate Shaw released a statement to the media as a two-day sentencing hearing for her daughter's killer concluded.

Daniel Billings has pleaded guilty to murdering the 28-year-old mother of one in the Central West town of Forbes in April 2024.

He was on bail for other charges against Ms Ticehurst, including four counts of sexual intercourse without consent, when he broke into her home and stabbed her more than a dozen times.

"Unfortunately there appears to have [been] a failure to protect Molly from potential harm in the time between when she first went to make a report at Forbes Police Station and her death," the statement by Ms Shaw said.

"Now that this case has been heard before the Court I call on the Premier to release the investigation report and the findings of the investigation ordered after Molly's death, relating to her interactions with service providers under the Staying Home Leaving Violence (SHLV) scheme.

In 2024, a review was announced into interactions Ms Ticehurst had with state government agencies and domestic violence services after she reported Billings to police for domestic violence.

It came after reports she was promised security upgrades to her home under the SHLV scheme some two weeks before her murder.

But the findings of the investigation have not been released by the government due to the ongoing court case.

A government spokesperson said it will make "as much information as possible about the outcomes of the review" as soon as it is able to.

The ABC understands that will be following sentencing and once the appeal period has expired.

In court with a killer

During the second day of his sentencing hearing, the Supreme Court in Orange heard Billings had an "obsessive fixation" over how rape allegations made by his ex-partner would impact his future.

The sexual assault charges were discontinued in November 2025 when he pleaded guilty to murder.

Aidan Clarke said it had been "extremely confronting" to sit in the same courtroom as his childhood friend's killer and watch lengthy videos recorded by Billings in the lead-up to and after the murder.

Mental state debate

Yesterday, the defence's forensic psychiatrist Dr Olav Nielssen concluded that Billings's severe depression amounted to a form of impairment that affected his perception of events.

Today, the Crown's forensic psychiatrist David Greenberg said the murder was more strongly linked to Billings's anger towards Ms Ticehurst.

"He's very angry because he feels he's been slighted," Dr Greenberg said.

"He may be ruminating because he's obsessed with the victim.

"I'm not dismissing his depression because [it was] a significant issue … but there is other information that suggests there are other factors involved."

Dr Greenberg told the court the context of six months of domestic violence and coercive control was significant.

He said the offender's multiple threats of suicide were made in the context of domestic violence, and that Billings planned to kill Ms Ticehurst in a murder-suicide.

"It's not an isolated depression and suicide, this is the context of murder and suicide," he said.

"[It] was certainly something that he referred to on more than one occasion.

"We can speculate about whether [suicide threats] were related to his depression, but in my opinion … it may be related to his anger towards the deceased," he told the court.

Defence barrister Sarah Talbert told the court it was the allegation of sexual assault that caused the offender's "catastrophic and tragic escalation" of his actions due to his depression influencing his perception of events.

"That is primarily linked to his hopelessness … despair and nihilism about the effects of the allegations on his life," she said.

"There is an obsessive fixation … since he's been arrested for those allegations and what they would mean for his future."

Justice Natalie Adams told the court the sentence will "boil down to" finding whether his depressive illness contributed to the commission of the offence in a material way.

"Is it your finding that it may have contributed but not in a material way?" Justice Adams asked Crown prosecutor Lee Carr SC.

"Yes, that's the Crown's position," Mr Carr said.

Letter of apology released

Justice Adams will hand down a sentence next Friday, and told the court there were no cases where a sentence has not been reduced for an offender who has pleaded guilty.

Court documents which have been released during the sentence hearing include an apology letter written by Billings in April 2026.

The New South Wales government reformed its bail legislation in the wake of her death, which is colloquially called "Molly's Law".

The changes meant alleged offenders on bail for serious domestic violence offences must wear an ankle monitor, and convince a judge why they should be bailed in the first place.