An urgent review will be launched after the killing of a young mother in regional NSW whose alleged murderer was released on bail on a slew of serious charges in the days before her death.
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Childcare worker and mother Molly Ticehurst, 28, was found dead inside her home at Forbes, in central-western NSW, on Monday.
Her former partner, accused of raping and stalking her in the months before the killing, has been charged with her murder.
Daniel Billings, 29, was on bail at the time of the killing, facing three counts of sexual intercourse without consent and four charges of stalking and intimidating Ms Ticehurst in recent months.
The 29-year-old, from Dalby in Queensland, appeared in court on Tuesday accused of launching a three-month reign of terror on the mother before her death.
As well as the murder charge, he faces fresh counts of failing to comply with his bail conditions and breaching an apprehended violence order.
Premier Chris Minns said a review of bail laws was being finalised and details of the plan would be announced on Wednesday.
"A family has lost their daughter and a little boy has lost his mother," he said.
"Our justice system must protect the community from those who pose an unacceptable risk."
Forbes mayor Phyllis Miller said women living in rural and regional NSW were not as safe as their urban counterparts.
"We cannot hide like you can in the metropolitan areas ... everyone knows everyone and they know where everyone is," she told ABC TV.
"How can you allow someone bail without doing some assessment of the harm they could cause?"
Federal Women's Minister Katy Gallagher said the problem was deeper than finding more resources and funding for support services, and men needed to play a greater role in working to keep women safe.
"This is a crisis in this country and women don't feel safe," she told ABC radio.
Ms Ticehurst's father, Tony, said Billings should have been behind bars and someone must be held responsible for her death.
"If they'd have kept him in jail as the police wanted, we wouldn't be having this conversation," he told Nine on Tuesday.
During a brief mention of the murder case in Orange Local Court on Tuesday, Billings did not apply for and was refused bail.
He is due to appear in Parkes Local Court on June 20.
A total of 25 women have died from gender-based violence in Australia in 2024, 24 at the hands of men, according to violence prevention organisation Our Watch.
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Australian Associated Press
