How could this embodiment of evil be out of jail in time to celebrate his 50th birthday?

Your instinct as a reader will be to turn away from this story, because what happened to Molly Ticehurst is about as grim as it gets. Having seen unredacted crime scene photos of Molly’s blood-soaked body on the floor of her Forbes home, I can’t blame you for stopping here.

But understanding the true horror of what Daniel Billings inflicted upon his former partner is essential to grasp why it is an outrage that this embodiment of evil could be free in time for his 50th birthday. We owe it to Molly, and her family, to not look away. And the state government owes it to all of us to stop this injustice from happening again.

Billings, the 31-year-old former partner of the adored mother and childcare worker, was on Friday sentenced to 28 years in jail for Molly’s killing, but will be eligible for parole in just 18 years.

This is the same man who stalked, menaced and likely raped his former partner in the weeks before arriving at her home at 11.27pm on April 21, 2024, smashing through her bedroom window before drawing a newly purchased hunting knife.

This is the same man who stabbed her 15 times with a particularly depraved focus on her face, head and neck.

Two weeks earlier, Billings phoned Molly and told her he would “come in the middle of the night and cut [her] head off”.

“It must have been absolutely terrifying for Ms Ticehurst to die knowing that her worst fears had been realised,” Justice Natalie Adams said during Friday’s sentencing hearing. 

Billings drove off less than two minutes after the attack began, covered in blood, and recorded two videos on his phone. In one, he said, “I’ve just murdered my ex-girlfriend” and promised to kill himself before being caught. “I would not be able to live with doing what I just f---ing did,” he said. “That is f---ed up.”

Adams on Friday found the murder was clearly planned. Molly had complained to NSW Police about Billings, and officers acted promptly to arrest him and bring him before the courts. As is now well known, a Dubbo Local Court registrar inexplicably granted him bail. Billings was enraged that Molly had gone to the authorities for help, and exacted revenge.

The murder prompted an overdue national reckoning on domestic violence. The Minns government banned registrars from making decisions on such serious matters and reversed the presumption of bail for people charged with serious domestic violence offences. More money was put into struggling frontline support services. They were all good changes, and have probably saved lives we will never know about. But domestic violence remains a stain on our shared national soul.

If Molly’s death was the catalyst for changes in how men accused of harming their partners are treated during the early stages of the court process, it must now also be the trigger for a review of the latter stages of the judicial system: sentencing.

The 20-year non-parole period set by Justice Adams on Friday is manifestly inadequate. Flicking the switch to outrage over sentencing decisions is the easiest thing to do in politics or the media, but this is so obviously a case where a sentence does not go close to meeting community expectations.

So what happened? Murder carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and a standard non-parole period of 20 years. The government last year passed legislation enshrining a standard non-parole period of 25 years for the murder of a current or former partner, but that is a guide only – not a mandatory minimum – and the law was not retrospective, meaning it didn’t apply to Billings.

After being detained by police following Molly’s death, Billings pleaded guilty in the Local Court, meaning he was entitled to a discount on his sentence of up to 25 per cent. The Crown argued that Molly’s death was both a coercive control domestic violence murder and also a public justice offence because Billings killed a witness. They argued that he should be the first case since the early plea laws were introduced in 2018 to not get a discount.

Adams disagreed because she had made a number of favourable findings in Billings’ case, including his remorse, “hardship in custody”, guilty plea, lack of a prior criminal history and “reasonable prospects of rehabilitation”. She must consider these factors under law. My criticism is not of her, but the guidance she is forced to consult when determining a sentence.

In the end, Adams settled on a 20 per cent discount for Billings’ early plea, rather than 25 per cent.

But that discount, combined with other factors, meant the 35-year total sentence Adams had decided on was reduced to 28 years. He was then granted a 20-year non-parole period. Billings has already served two years in custody, so could be out in 18 years. The MP for the state seat of Orange, former police prosecutor Phil Donato, said the non-parole period was way too low. Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane called for Attorney-General Michael Daley to explore any grounds for an appeal.

The Ticehurst family wanted him to spend the rest of his life behind bars, but recognised recently there was no prospect of that. “No amount of time was ever going to be enough,” her childhood friend, Aidan Clarke, said outside the court on Friday.

The family were told to brace for a relatively low non-parole period. They have not commented on the decision publicly; they’re too distraught to talk. But it should not be on a family we have already asked so much of to do more advocacy to force change. As Molly’s father, Tony Ticehurst, said in his victim impact statement: “Why does the law wait for a murder before something is done to make people safe?”

Molly has been let down the entire way through this tragedy. She sought help from the police in 2024, only for courts to grant her tormentor bail. Now in death, her killer could be out of prison to cut a cake for his 50th birthday.

One of the most unsettling aspects of this affair – and one in favour of the state throwing the book at people such as Billings – is that this seems to be the first known case in NSW where an estranged partner has killed a witness because she made an allegation of sexual assault against them. Molly went to police for help, and Billings killed her as a result. Surely, this sort of conduct must be met with the strongest possible message from the courts and government.

Finally, why should any man who has shot, stabbed or bashed a partner to death be eligible for a discount on their sentence simply because they admit to being a murderer? The discount makes sense for many cases such as rape, where prosecutors are understandably keen to avoid subjecting victims to the ordeal of a trial, and can help keep busy courts moving along. The discount has its place in our judicial architecture.

But it should not be granted to murderers such as Billings. The government should consider removing or drastically lowering the early plea discount for men who kill their partners. Prevention is still the best policy response to domestic violence, and removing the early plea incentive may not ultimately act as a huge deterrent to someone determined to kill. But it would send a message that murdering women is an affront to society, and not business-as-usual before the courts. It would also be an important step for families who understandably don’t want perpetrators of calculated murder to walk free after just two decades in prison.

Premier Chris Minns went to Molly’s funeral in Forbes the day after the death of his own father. His attendance was a credit to him and his leadership. Having seen the carnage people such as Daniel Billings can inflict, can he honestly search his soul today and say nothing needs to change after this pathetic sentence? I doubt it.

If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline 131 114, or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636. You can reach Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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