Molly Ticehurst's killer phoned Tinder match after stabbing, saying 'I'm sorry I murdered her'
An Australian court has heard that Daniel Billings called a woman he met on Tinder about two hours after murdering his ex-girlfriend Molly Ticehurst, admitting to the killing. Billings has pleaded guilty to murder, with sentencing expected later in September.
New evidence has emerged in the New South Wales supreme court sentencing hearing of Daniel Billings, 31, who murdered his ex-girlfriend Molly Ticehurst, 28, in April 2024. According to a statement tendered to the court, about two hours after the killing, Billings phoned a woman he had met on the dating app Tinder in early 2022. During the call, made at 2.02am, he told her, "I'm sorry I murdered her." The woman later told police she was shocked as he described the crime during the brief conversation.
Billings made the call from a mutual friend's property, where he had fled still wearing bloodied clothing. The friend soon alerted police.
Billings has pleaded guilty to stabbing Ticehurst 15 times after breaking into her bedroom at her home in Forbes just before midnight on 21 April 2024. He had been released on bail a fortnight earlier despite facing a series of sexual assault and domestic violence charges relating to Ticehurst.
The court was shown 90 minutes of footage Billings recorded before and after the murder, in which he repeatedly insisted he had been wrongly accused of rape. In a video recorded immediately after the stabbing, he said, "I can't believe I just did that," and was later seen raising a bloodied hand to his face while driving away.
Forensic psychiatrist Olav Nielssen, engaged by the defence, told the court some of the recordings could be interpreted as "goodbye videos" and that Billings was suffering significant depression. The crown's expert, Prof David Greenberg, countered that Billings' suicide threats should be understood in the context of months of domestic abuse, noting he had repeatedly threatened both the victim and her family.
The sexual assault charges were dropped when Billings pleaded guilty to murder in November 2025, following 18 months of legal negotiations. The court also heard victim impact statements from Ticehurst's family, including her father, Tony, who said part of him died along with his daughter. Justice Natalie Adams indicated sentencing would take place later in September.
