A young woman stabbed 78 times by her paroled ex-boyfriend must have suffered a “fear no human should ever know” on the night she was murdered, her mother has said.
Tabitha Acret told the Newcastle Supreme Court her mind was filled with thoughts about her daughter Mackenzie Anderson’s harrowing last night.
Reading an emotional statement during the sentence hearing for Tyrone Thompson, 25, Acret said she constantly worried about how scared her daughter must have been.
“Mackenzie was convinced Tyrone would murder her on his (parole) release. She was in fear all the time.”
Acret said her 21-year-old daughter’s digital trail told so much about her final weeks, including emails to domestic violence advocacy groups begging for help with security doors and cameras.
“One of those agencies sent a reply that said we’re letting you know we’re closing your request for support because you’re now dead and no longer qualify for support,” the grieving mother told the court today.
“Mackenzie did everything she should to try and keep safe but was constantly failed by the system. Her death was no surprise but instead a death in slow motion.”
Thompson had been due to stand trial for murder before pleading guilty earlier in April.
This came after prosecutors agreed to say the Crown could not disprove Anderson was holding a knife when they argued, Thompson attempted to disarm her by grabbing the blade injuring his hand, and after disarming Anderson, he began to stab her.
Thompson stabbed Anderson 78 times with two kitchen knives between 10.48pm and 10.50pm after breaking into her apartment in the Newcastle suburb of Mayfield on March 25, 2022.
Acret revealed the trauma of walking into her daughter’s apartment days after her murder.
“The crime scene cleaners had removed everything soaked with blood but there was still a story that that apartment told.
“A story of fear and violence.
“Along with the immense grief there is so much sorrow and guilt. I never knew the extent of the violence Mackenzie had experienced until a couple of days before her death.
“She tried to hide it from me and deal with it due to her own shame.”
Acret said her daughter had asked for a new set of knives for Christmas 2021 and she now had to live with the fact that Thompson used those knives to kill her.
Thompson killed Anderson 16 days after his release on parole after being jailed for serious domestic violence offences against her.
The mother-of-one told family and friends she was scared Thompson was going to kill her.
On the day she died, Anderson asked a male friend about 9.30pm to help get Thompson out of her unit because he was scaring her. But the killer returned using a ladder to climb up to her second-storey balcony and enter.
Anderson made several triple zero calls telling the operator: “My ex-boyfriend’s broken in. I’ve woken up to him in my house. Like, I have AVO on him.”
At 10.48pm, Anderson sent a message to her male friend telling him Thompson had returned and the friend immediately started running back to the unit.
Neighbours saw Anderson looking terrified as she hit her window with clenched fists.
When Anderson’s male friend reached the front door, he could not open it but he could see Mackenzie through a gap.
She was lying on the ground with Thompson standing over her repeatedly stabbing her. Thompson was not saying a word.
Thompson, whose right hand was injured, told a detective the couple had had a heated argument and she had a knife, which he grabbed before jumping on her head and stabbing her many times “till she f—-en stopped”.
