Sophie Quinn’s death ‘shows justice system is running blind’

The justice system is “running blind” in spotting domestic violence risks, the sector’s peak body has said, as the Minister for Western NSW refused to respond to a push by the opposition for further bail law changes, following an alleged triple murder in regional NSW.

Heavily pregnant 24-year-old Sophie Quinn was allegedly shot to death on Thursday by her former partner, Julian Ingram, in the Central West town of Lake Cargelligo. Also killed were her 50–year-old aunt, Nerida Quinn, and her 32-year-old friend, John Harris. Kaleb Macqueen, 19, was seriously injured. Ingram remains on the run.

The tragedy unfolded two years after the murder of 28-year-old Forbes woman Molly Ticehurst by her former boyfriend, Daniel Billings, which sparked sweeping bail reforms.

Amid calls for more stringent bail law changes, Domestic Violence NSW senior policy and advocacy officer Angie Gehle said these would not provide a “quick fix” for the national crisis and a justice system operating in a “vacuum”.

In response to Billings being on bail for domestic violence offences at the time he murdered Ticehurst, the NSW government passed legislation in 2024 that made it harder for people accused of serious domestic violence offences to be released back into the community.

The onus was placed on the alleged offender to argue why they should be released for alleged “serious” domestic violence offences, which include intimate partner violence involving sexual assault, strangulation, kidnapping or coercive control, and which carry maximum sentences of 14 years or more.

Those granted bail would be fitted with electronic monitoring bracelets.

On Friday, this masthead revealed that Ingram was, like Billings, on bail for domestic violence charges (including stalking and assault) at the time of his alleged triple-murder, sparking questions about the effectiveness of the bail reforms.

Ingram’s bail was granted by police in November and it was continued in court in December, as his charges did not meet the legal threshold of “serious” domestic violence offences under the new laws.

Court records show Ingram had been issued six AVOs, protecting five people, including Quinn, since 2014.

On Sunday, NSW shadow attorney general Damien Tudehope said the circumstances of the shooting suggested there needed to be further legal changes to lower the threshold for what amounted to a serious offence.

Tudehope suggested the law could be changed to require people with histories of domestic violence to wear the monitoring bracelets even in cases that did not meet the serious threshold.

“I think the loophole relating to electronic monitoring probably does need tightening in circumstances where there have been previous AVOs or offences relating to domestic violence,” he said, adding Ingram’s access to a firearm, despite his not holding a gun licence in NSW, raised questions about the enforcement of the state’s licensing regime.

Also on Sunday, the Minister for Western NSW Tara Moriarty refused to comment directly on whether the government would consider further bail reforms, including expanding which factors could trigger a refusal of bail, citing the ongoing manhunt.

But, she said that if “there needs to be further work done, we’ll have a look at it”.

However, Gehle said further bail law changes, including lowering the threshold for “serious” offences, would not be a “quick fix”.

While agreeing it was an issue that the bail reforms did not cover crimes with lesser punishments, she said a wider problem was the lack of “reliable and current” information courts have to make risk assessments.

“When somebody’s coming before the court – and this is where the legal system is really tricky – they can only look at the matter that is in front of them and a bit of history, but sometimes not the contextual history that actually will give information about risk,” she said.

“That is problematic because you’re only getting ... a quarter of the picture”.

This meant the legal system was “operating in a vacuum”, Gehle said. She called for more involvement of domestic family and specialist knowledge in police stations and courts (while respecting confidentiality and safety), noting victim-survivors often share crucial information with support services.

One such risk factor was the escalating rates of domestic violence against pregnant women, as some perpetrators felt a loss of control over women when they diverted attention elsewhere.

“It’s really complex. The judiciary is sort of running blind in terms of those risk factors, and I think that’s some of that integrated stuff that really needs to come into play.”

Gehle said some survivors had been “misidentified as the perpetrator” and could be sent into custody on remand if the offence threshold was lowered, while suggesting there were opportunities for improved men’s behavioural programs to be integrated with the justice system.

Gehle acknowledged that in a climate of over-stretched courts, allocating adequate time to assess risks more thoroughly would be challenging.

But ultimately, she said, change could not stem from the justice system alone, echoing concerns earlier raised by DVNSW CEO Delia Donovan about poor access to survivor support services, emergency housing and police support in regional areas.

“We are at a crisis point,” Gehle said.

“We’ve been at a crisis point for a really long time ... Enough is enough. This has got to be a whole of government systems approach”.

Criminal lawyer and Law Society of NSW accredited specialist Andrew Teidt echoed the point about stretched courts resources, but he said the bail laws did “a good job of trying to balance a person’s right to liberty and community protection”.

“I think making more resources available to put more material in front of the magistrate is a great idea,” he said.

“But there is so much work, and there are only ‘X’ many magistrates ... there’s only so many hours in the day.“

On Friday, Western Region Command Assistant Commissioner Andrew Holland defended the decision to grant Ingram police bail, saying he had complied with all conditions and that he had no other violent charges in the past five years.

Victims of crime advocate Howard Brown called for the risk assessment to date back at least a decade, as well as the lowering of the “serious crime” threshold and an expansion of the electronic monitoring program to cover a wider range of DV charges.

“When you get to a point where there’s very little supervision, that’s when the person becomes more dangerous,” he said.

Under Ingram’s bail conditions, he was required to report to local police daily.

In December, DVNSW released research that found the cost of delivering victim support services was almost nine times higher outside metropolitan areas. It called for a 50 per cent increase in funding for core support services, along with additional funding for regional providers.

The report found regional areas often had DV rates five and six times worse than metropolitan Sydney, and that service providers were responding to “unprecedented demand, often operating several times above their funded capacity”.

But Moriarty defended NSW Labor’s investment in domestic violence prevention, saying the government had invested “significant resources” into services.

“As a government, we’ll continue to look at the services that need to be provided, but the message couldn’t be clearer, people need to stop attacking women in NSW and everywhere else,” she said.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service (1800RESPECT) on 1800 737 732.

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