‘Grim Reaper’ killer’s chilling confession to a Tinder match just two hours after horrific stabbing frenzy slaying of young mum Molly Ticehurst in her bedroom

Molly Ticehurst’s killer acted like ‘the Grim Reaper’ on his way to murder her before he made a chilling confession to a Tinder match, a judge has heard.

‘I’m sorry, I murdered her,’ Daniel Billings told the Tinder match during a phone call at 2.02am on April 22, 2024, two hours after the brutal stabbing.

The woman, who met Billings on the dating app in early 2022, told police she was shocked as he described the murder during their brief conversation.

‘In an ideal world, what I wanted to do was go over there and talk to her,’ Billings said, according to the woman’s statement tendered to his NSW Supreme Court sentencing hearing.

‘But she started screaming and I did what I did.’

The phone call was made from a mutual friend’s property and the residents soon alerted police, according to a statement of facts.

The court on Friday publicly released images of Billings soon after his arrest for murder, including his mug shot and a photo of him standing in his blood-stained clothes.

The 31-year-old former mine worker has pleaded guilty to stabbing Ms Ticehurst 15 times in a frenzied attack after breaking into her bedroom at her Forbes home late on April 21.

He has faced a two-day hearing in Orange, with sentencing set for September 11.

Billings had been released on bail by a local court registrar a fortnight before the murder, charged with a series of sexual assault and domestic violence offences against Ms Ticehurst.

As soon as he learned of her allegations of repeated rapes, Billings adamantly denied the crimes and developed an obsession with clearing his name.

The court viewed about 90-minutes of footage Billings recorded before and after the murder, in which he repeatedly cries and raves about his claims he was wrongly accused of rape.

One of the videos showed Billings driving on dark country roads from his home in Parkes to Ms Ticehurst’s home, singing along to Johnny Cash’s The Man Comes Around.

The song contains the lyrics: ‘When the man comes around, the hairs on your arm will stand up at the terror.’

Senior Crown prosecutor Lee Carr SC said the video was proof of his intention to kill Ms Ticehurst.

‘That is prophetic,’ Mr Carr told the court on Friday afternoon.

‘The Grim Reaper is another word that comes to mind.

‘The Crown says… he has fixed in his mind his intention to kill.’

Justice Natalie Adams agreed that the footage directly after the killing appeared to show Billings in a ‘jubilant’ mood.

The series of videos also alluded to a plan that he would take his own life after killing Ms Ticehurst.

Forensic psychiatrist Olav Nielssen, engaged by the defence team, told the court many of the recordings could be interpreted as ‘goodbye videos’ and that Billings was suffering significant depression.

But David Greenberg, the Crown’s expert, said Billings’ threats of suicide could also be interpreted in the context of his months of domestic abuse against Ms Ticehurst.

‘Several times he threatens the victim and her family,’ Professor Greenberg told the court on Friday.

‘The acts of domestic violence have the context of these suicide threats.’

Billings listened to proceedings in an elevated wooden dock, often leaning down to stare at the floor.

He was seen occasionally shaking his head.

The sexual assault charges against Billings were ultimately dropped when he pleaded guilty to murder in November 2025, after 18 months of legal negotiations.

Public defender Sarah Talbert told the court there was evidence of Billings’ chronic depression and his regret.

‘There were multiple and consistent ongoing expressions of remorse,’ Ms Talbert said.

The court heard victim impact statements from Ms Ticehurst’s family on Thursday.

Her mother Kate’s statement was read aloud by a family friend.

‘Molly was my only child and my best friend,’ her statement said.

‘I’m heartbroken that my girl is no longer with me.’

Outside court on Friday afternoon, her father Tony Ticehurst made a brief statement thanking Australians for their support.

He broke down when asked how he would remember his daughter.

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