The murder of Molly Ticehurst in central NSW, allegedly at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, as sparked a review of the states bill laws. But the ABC can reveal this is not an isolated case. Another woman was allegedly murdered last year under similar circumstances, and a former magistrate says both cases have exposed a gap in the system- putting victims in regional areas at risk.
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00:00Mollie Ticehurst was allegedly murdered by her ex-boyfriend Daniel Billings in a Forbes
00:07home just two weeks after he was granted bail in Dubbo local court.
00:12He'd previously been charged with multiple violent offences against her, including three
00:17counts of sexual assault.
00:19The decision to set him free on April 6th was made by a court registrar because a magistrate
00:25was not available.
00:26A registrar is essentially a public servant who has done a short training course.
00:32They're not generally lawyers, in fact I don't know any that are, there may be a few.
00:37David Hilpern is a former magistrate and says registrars are not qualified to make decisions
00:42that could put lives at risk.
00:45He's called on the government to urgently amend the system by enabling audiovisual links
00:49to be used when a local magistrate is not available.
00:53There's no reason why registrars can't be bypassed and go before a magistrate in Sydney
01:00or wherever the duty magistrate happens to be sitting on that weekend.
01:04The government has already flagged the changes as part of its urgent review announced this
01:09week.
01:10But Mollie Ticehurst is not an isolated case.
01:13ABC News can reveal another woman was allegedly murdered by her former partner in a regional
01:19New South Wales town last year after he was granted bail by a court registrar in similar
01:24circumstances just days earlier.
01:27We can't reveal the details of that case because it's still before the courts.
01:32The Premier concedes immediate changes are needed.
01:35The status quo is not good enough.
01:36I am concerned.
01:38There is a need for a comprehensive response.
01:40A response that will come too late for many.