Tyrone Thompson sentenced for murder of Mackenzie Anderson

A man who stabbed his ex-girlfriend 78 times in less than three minutes could be out of jail before he turns 40 after a sentencing judge found his mental health and childhood reduced his moral culpability.

Tyrone Thompson, right, was jailed for murdering ex-girlfriend Mackenzie Anderson, left, by stabbing her 78 times. Pictures: Supplied/Nine News

Tyrone Thompson could be out of jail before he turns 40 after being sentenced to at least 15 years and six months for brutally murdering his ex-girlfriend Mackenzie Anderson, with a judge stating his mental health issues and deprived background reduced his moral culpability.

Justice Richard Weinstein handed down a maximum jail term of 22 years and six months for the brutal 2022 murder, also stating Thompson’s early guilty plea had attracted a 10 per cent discount to a head term of 25 years.

There were audible gasps in the NSW Supreme Court in Newcastle on Friday as the sentence was imposed, with Ms Anderson’s mother Tabitha Acret immediately walking out of the courtroom before collapsing.

The public gallery was packed with family and friends – some wearing purple t-shirts adorned with a photograph of Ms Anderson.

Thompson listened to the sentence via audio-visual link from jail, sitting with his hands in his lap and wearing prison attire and showing no emotion as the judge slowly went through the facts surrounding the murder.

Tyrone Thompson was banned from contacting Mackenzie Anderson before being released from jail. Just 16 days after his release, Thompson stabbed her 78 times.

Thompson, now aged 25, was out on parole for domestic violence offences committed against Ms Anderson for just 16 days when he broke back into her suburban Newcastle unit and stabbed her 78 times in less than three minutes.

Ms Anderson, 21, had feared for her life and predicted she would die at the hands of her ex-boyfriend before he briefly re-entered her life upon his release from prison, where he immediately contacted her and said he was “coming for her” and loved her.

Tyrone Thompson posted this picture, which shows him being held by Mackenzie Anderson, on social media after his release. Ms Anderson blocked him twice before he finally contacted her.

On the day of the murder, the pair had spent time together before Ms Anderson had ordered Thompson to leave her Mayfield unit.

He left before returning twice, once by scaling a ladder to enter her home while she slept, and a second time with a set of her own house keys.

He claimed she was armed with a knife – something prosecutors had not been able to disprove and Justice Weinstein found on a balance of probabilities – before he attacked her with at least two weapons in an attack that continued through several sections of her unit.

Despite her horrific injuries, Ms Anderson was able to get out to a landing at the front of her unit before succumbing to the 78 wounds to her head, neck, back, chest, abdomen and upper and lower limbs.

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

Even when she lay dead and with police frantically attempting to revive her, Thompson complained of a cut to his hand, yelling words to the effect: “Help me! She’s dead!”.

“Police told him to be quiet so he could determine if she was breathing,” an agreed statement of facts reads.

“The offender yelled, “I’m bleeding out everywhere. Man, can you please help my blood pressure? Officer, can you help my blood pressure please? I’m pissing out blood”.

The facts state that Thompson told a detective at the scene that the pair had a “heated argument” and then: “she [had] a f--king knife … And then I’ve literally just grabbed the knife, and I just f--kin stabbed, stabbed, stabbed, stabbed … and just jumped on her head, that’s all that’s happened”.

Justice Weinstein found Thompson had an intention to kill Ms Anderson after he first stabbed her, reading out the lengthy and heinous details of the fatal night as sobbing rang out in the courtroom.

Mackenzie Anderson was stabbed 78 times.

And although Thompson’s significant mental health issues, which included diagnoses of complex post traumatic stress disorder and schizoeaffective disorder, did not cause him to offend, Justice Weinstein found that they did reduce Thompson’s moral culpability.

As did Thompson’s youth and immaturity.

“In my opinion, in all of the offender’s circumstances, and because of the combination of the disadvantages he suffered, he had limited emotional resources,” Justice Weinstein said.

“He was unable make his choices in the same way as an average person at the time of the offending.”

He later added: “It is important that the victims understand that this finding does not extinguish Mr Thompson’s moral culpability for the murder of the deceased.

“He bears responsibility for the commission of that offence.

“My finding is that his moral culpability is diminished, which I will take into account as a matter to synthesise on sentence.”

Mackenzie Anderson predicted that her ex-boyfriend Tyrone Thompson would kill her.

Thompson attempted to show remorse for the murder, telling Justice Weinstein in a 781-word letter that the relationship was rocky and he was damaged from a bad childhood.

Prosecutors argued the letter was victim blaming, but Justice Weinstein said he was satisfied Thompson had accepted responsibility for his actions.

“However, I remain circumspect and give it less weight, as the offender’s expression of remorse is qualified to an extent by his failure to comprehend, in particular, the profound effect of his actions,” he said.

“He appears too, to shift some blame onto the deceased.”

Justice Weinstein said the murder was “objectively serious” and was aggravated by several factors including Thompson being on parole, the apprehended domestic violence order in place banning him from seeing her, that Ms Anderson was killed in her own home and Thompson’s criminal history.

He said the loss of Ms Anderson would “last across lifetimes”.

“The death of the deceased is a tragedy for her family and for her friends,” he said.

“It is also a tragedy for the community, which has lost one of its contributing members at a tender age when a long and fulfilling life awaited her.

“We are less of a community because of the loss of the deceased. On behalf of the community, the court acknowledges the pain and suffering of each of the victims and expresses its condolences to all who loved and have lost Mackenzie Anderson.

“ Their loss will last across lifetimes.”

With the sentence partially backdated for time already served, Thompson will not be eligible for parole until March 22, 2038 – when he is aged 38.

More to come.