A killer who stabbed his ex-girlfriend 78 times while on parole has been jailed for 22 years and six months.
Newcastle Supreme Court Justice Richard Weinstein described Tyrone Thompson’s murder of Mackenzie Anderson, 21, as a frenzied attack. The brutality was evident as one of the knives he used snapped during the assault.
Justice Weinstein stated that the Crown argued the gravity of the crime was exacerbated by prior instances of domestic violence in the relationship. Anderson’s fear of Thompson and her efforts to end the relationship, which he resisted, were also highlighted as aggravating factors.
Thompson, in a letter expressing remorse to the judge, mentioned that he and Anderson had a struggle involving a knife. He claimed that during the altercation, his hand was inadvertently cut, triggering a loss of control within him. Thompson, who was diagnosed with a severe personality disorder and complex post-traumatic stress disorder, was not considered to be psychotic.
Anderson’s mother, Tabitha Acret, had told the court how her daughter must have suffered a “fear no human should ever know” on the night she was murdered and had been convinced Thompson would kill her after being paroled.
Thompson and Anderson had been involved in an on-again, off-again relationship, marred by domestic violence, since late 2019.
He was jailed in October 2021 for assaulting Anderson, intimidating her and destroying her property before being released on parole on March 9, 2022.
Thompson, who ignored an apprehended domestic violence order banning him from contacting Anderson, killed her 16 days later after breaking into her apartment in the Newcastle suburb of Mayfield.
Acret ran sobbing from the courtroom after the sentence was handed down and collapsed on the floor outside.
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