The man accused of the domestic violence murder of Molly Ticehurst has been mentally assessed and will face court again later this year.

Daniel Billings is charged with the murder of Ticehurst, whose body was found in her home at Forbes, in central-western NSW, early on April 22 last year.

The alleged murder came just two weeks after the 30-year-old was freed on bail on charges related to Ticehurst. They included three counts of sexual intercourse without consent and four of stalking and intimidating her.

Billings was also charged with destroying property at Ticehurst’s house and aggravated animal cruelty against her 12-week-old dachshund puppy in 2023.

Four more serious charges, including one count of aggravated sexual assault, were laid in December 2024.

Legal documents before the court accused Billings of threatening to cause Ticehurst further physical harm during the alleged assault.

Billings faces a total of 17 charges.

On Friday, Legal Aid solicitor Diane Elston told Parkes Local Court Billings had undergone a mental assessment and the case could progress.

“We’re ready to commence the formal negotiation period,” Elston said.

Magistrate Michael Maher adjourned the case to the same court on May 16.

He also removed Ticehurst’s name from an interim domestic violence order, which was imposed with the initial charges.

“I can’t make an interim order for someone who is no longer on this Earth, so to speak,” Maher said.

The order now only relates to a young person.

Several members of Ticehurst’s family, including her parents, were in court for Friday’s brief proceedings.

Billings did not appear via audio-video link.

During a brief hearing in June 2024, Billings appeared from the High Risk Management Correctional Centre at Goulburn jail.

The centre in southern NSW is designed to house high-risk male inmates or those with a high public profile.

Ticehurst’s death intensified a growing movement against gendered violence and sparked NSW government changes to bail laws.

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-AAP