Tyrone Thompson pleads guilty to murdering Mackenzie Anderson at Mayfield

A man who was banned from contacting his ex-girlfriend has admitted brutally murdering her just 16 days after being released on parole on domestic violence offences. The victim’s mum says the admission is not a sign of remorse.

Tyrone Thompson has pleaded guilty to murdering ex-partner Mackenzie Anderson at Mayfield. Picture: Instagram.

Before Tyrone Thompson was released on parole for domestic violence offences against his former partner Mackenzie Anderson, he had to agree to a fresh condition on an apprehended domestic violence order.

It was not to contact the young Newcastle mum, and added to the mandatory conditions of not assaulting, threatening, stalking, intimidating or harassing the 21-year-old.

But just 16 days after being released from custody – and a fortnight after being placed back on conditional bail for allegedly bashing his father – Thompson stormed into Ms Anderson’s unit and stabbed her 78 times.

Despite the non-contact condition on the ADVO, Thompson had already spent part of the day socialising with Ms Anderson at the flat.

He failed to leave when Ms Anderson asked, so she rang the police.

Mackenzie Anderson, 21, who died after being stabbed dozens of times in her home at Mayfield on March 25, 2022.

Only then did Thompson leave, but only briefly.

He would return shortly afterwards and brutally murder her.

Mackenzie Anderson

Three years later – and more than a year after first pleading not guilty – Thompson was arraigned again on Tuesday, this time in the King St Building of the NSW Supreme Court.

And this time, the now 25-year-old pleaded guilty.

The plea, and formal conviction by Justice Richard Weinstein, came a week before Thompson was due to face a four-week trial for the murder, which had prompted a huge outpouring of emotion amid calls for changes to AVOs and domestic violence offenders.

The guilty plea also means Thompson could be eligible for a discount on sentence.

The unit block where Newcastle mum Mackenzie Anderson was stabbed to her death. Picture: Toby Zerna

But Ms Anderson’s mother, Tabitha Acret, said the guilty plea was less about Thompson showing remorse and more because the case against him was too strong.

“I think it’s a good thing that he has pleaded guilty, but we have known [he was guilty] for three years so it’s a shame it took so long,” Ms Acret told this masthead on Tuesday.

“I don’t think him pleading guilty shows a great deal of remorse, to me, this was about self-preservation. I think it shows someone who realised the defence they were going with wasn’t going to work.

“He was running with a ‘self defence’ plea... Mackenzie had more than 70 stab wounds and more than 10 of them apparently could have been fatal, so I don’t think there was any self defence.

“It was pretty insulting for him to run that for more than three years.”

Makenzie Anderson’s mother, Tabitha Acret, does not believe Tyrone Thompson’s plea showed a great deal of remorse. Picture: Sue Graham

Ms Acret said the plea had guaranteed his guilt and had saved a drawn-out trial full of horrific evidence.

“Obviously this gives us the guarantee of a guilty verdict, because when you go to trial you have no guarantee,” she said.

“It will save myself, my family and my friends, from having to see and hear more horrific details than we need to. That is something we have been really stressed about, is having to hear things and see the photos.

“Even the poor jury would have had to see those photos and hear those things... I don’t think there would have been a jury alive who could’ve believed that was self defence.

“It’s not a day we were expecting, but we’re happy that that’s the outcome.

“It’s a strange feeling, but I’m still holding my breath to see what happens at sentencing.”

Tyrone Thompson

It can also be revealed that Ms Anderson had suffered 78 stab wounds and despite her horrific injuries, was still able to make it outside onto a landing before emergency services arrived.

As revealed by this masthead days after the murder, Thompson had only been released from custody on March 9, 2022.

He had served just four months and two weeks of a maximum nine-month sentence he had been given for a domestic violence incident at Ms Anderson’s flat on October 24, 2021.

Thompson was convicted of one count each of stalk and intimidate, common assault and malicious damage.

An ADVO was also placed on Thompson in a bid to protect Ms Anderson, with the conditions strengthened to include he not contact his former partner upon his release.

That condition was added to the mandatory conditions that he not assault, threaten, stalk, harass or intimidate her.

He went to visit his father, Jason Thompson, and on March 10 – the day after his release – he was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm after allegedly bashing his father during a drinking session to celebrate his release from jail.

Hornsby police refused him bail.

But Thompson was granted his conditional liberty the following day in Hornsby Local Court.

The conditions included that he attend a designated medical centre within seven days and not drink or use illegal drugs.

He was also made subject to an ADVO to protect his father.

His conviction on the assault charge was later quashed on appeal and the ADVO was granted in February last year to continue for two years..

Upon his release on bail, Thompson contacted Ms Anderson and on March 25 they socialised before Ms Anderson ordered him out of her unit.

She rang the police before he left. But he returned and murdered her.

Thompson will face an estimated two-day sentence hearing from April 28.