In life, Molly Ticehurst lit up every room she walked into and spread her infectious joy.
In death, the young mum has helped save countless women's lives after her 2024 murder led to tougher domestic violence laws, lifelong friend Aidan Clarke said.
"As much as this is a terrible situation for everybody and no one will ever fill that hole Molly's left, hopefully no one has to go through what we have gone through," Mr Clarke told reporters after Ms Ticehurst's murderer was jailed on Friday.
Her ex-boyfriend Daniel Billings was jailed for at least 20 years for her senseless stabbing murder, which was revenge for her reporting rape allegations to police.
Billings stood calm and expressionless when the sentence was handed down in the NSW Supreme Court in Orange, central western NSW.
Justice Natalie Adams set a maximum term of 28 years in jail, finding Billings' offending was in the high range of seriousness, given he murdered her in the way he had long threatened to do.
"It must have been absolutely terrifying for Ms Ticehurst to die knowing her worst fears had been realised," Justice Adams said.
Ms Ticehurst's parents Tony Ticehurst and Kate Shaw, who called for a life sentence, left court visibly shaken and did not comment.
The 28-year-old childcare worker was found dead in her pyjamas at her home at Forbes, in the state's central west, in the early hours of April 22, 2024.
Billings broke into her bedroom and used a hunting knife to stab her several times in the face and neck, a ferocious attack that lasted less than a minute.
The 31-year-old former mine worker had repeatedly threatened to smash into Ms Ticehurst's bedroom and kill her soon after she ended their on-and-off relationship in December 2023.
Ms Ticehurst reported the abuse to police, who charged him with several counts of sexual assault and a series of domestic violence charges.
He was also charged with killing Ms Ticehurst's dachshund puppy with a hammer after an earlier split.
Police took out a provisional apprehended violence order against Billings, barring him from entering Forbes.
He spent one night in police custody, but was freed on bail by a local court registrar a fortnight before the murder because there was no judge on duty that weekend.
Upon his conditional release, Billings became obsessed with a belief he was wrongfully accused of rape.
In a series of chilling videos Billings recorded on his phone in the hours before the murder, he detailed his plans of harming Ms Ticehurst in revenge.
"It can be eye for an eye," he snarled in one of the recordings.
Even as the judge was describing Billings' brutal crimes, he shook his head at every mention of the sexual assault allegations.
Justice Adams found Billings acted out of retribution, revenge and "extreme hatred" for Ms Ticehurst.
"It is clear that Molly's senseless death has had a significant impact on those who loved her," she said.
Billings' crime intensified a national campaign against domestic and gendered violence.
The movement sparked changes to NSW laws, including stripping registrars of the power to grant bail, "show cause" thresholds for domestic violence-related bail applications and electronic monitoring for accused people.
"We've heard from people already since those laws have been introduced that it has saved lives, but it will be the countless lives no one ever knows about." Mr Clarke said.
"Molly made a difference."
Prosecutors did not seek a life sentence for Billings.
He pleaded guilty to murder after more than 500 days of legal negotiations, which led to the sexual assault charges being dropped in November 2025
The admission was considered an early plea under NSW legislation, entitling him to a 25 per cent discount on the sentence.
The Crown urged Justice Adams to dispense with that discount, arguing Billings' level of culpability was "extreme".
However, the judge noted there were several positive findings for Billings, including having no criminal history and reasonable chances of rehabilitation
She instead granted a discount of 20 per cent, reducing the maximum sentence from 35 years.
Billings will be 49 when he can apply for parole in April 2044.
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