Arabic version: بيلينغز يلمّح إلى استئناف حكمه في قتل تايسهيرست

According to ABC News, Daniel Billings has filed a notice of intention to appeal the 28-year prison sentence imposed for the murder of his former partner, Molly Ticehurst. The NSW Supreme Court said the notice, challenging the sentence handed down by Justice Adams in Orange on September 11, was lodged on the afternoon of Friday, October 9.

Billings pleaded guilty to murdering Ms Ticehurst at her Forbes home in the NSW central west on April 21, 2024. The 31-year-old broke into her home shortly before 11:30pm and fatally stabbed the childcare worker and mother-of-one with a hunting knife. Her body was found the next day, and Billings was later arrested in Fifield, north of Condobolin.

The sentence carries a 20-year non-parole period. Under the applicable rules, Billings has one year to pursue the proposed appeal by filing a notice of appeal. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has separately decided not to appeal the sentence, saying it had carefully considered the penalty and circumstances of the case in accordance with prosecution guidelines.

Orange MP Phil Donato said the appeal would create further stress and trauma for Ms Ticehurst’s family, friends and community. He said her death had rocked Forbes and the central west and reverberated nationally. Ms Ticehurst’s death also prompted changes to NSW bail laws after it emerged that Billings had been granted bail on other alleged violent offences against her shortly before the killing. The reforms included electronic monitoring provisions and a requirement for people accused of domestic violence offences to show why they should be granted bail.