Bereaved mum’s next fight after DV murder sentence win
A mother is looking at her next target after her advocacy following her daughter’s shocking murder fueled a push for minimum prison sentences for domestic violence-related murders.
Tabitha Acret hopes new NSW legislation that will increase the standard parole period for intimate partner deaths to 25 years will be a strong deterrent.
It is calling on governments to go further and impose mandatory minimum sentences if offenders breach arrest violence orders when committing an assault or murder.
After Ms Acret told her story, more than 110,000 people signed a petition supporting the reform.
Her 21-year-old daughter, Mackenzie Anderson, was stabbed 78 times by ex-boyfriend Tyrone Thompson in a violent attack in March 2022.
Thompson was released on parole 16 days ago for attacking a Newcastle woman and damaging her property.
He was also subject to an AVO, which he overturned by calling Ms Anderson immediately after his release, saying he would come for her.
“For this, zero was added to his sentence; that sends a dangerous message,” Ms Acret told reporters on Thursday.
The 22-and-a-half-year prison sentence Thompson received in May was viewed negatively by his family and appealed by prosecutors on the grounds that it was “manifestly inadequate.”
While the Crown argued the sentence undermined public confidence in the criminal justice system and called on judges to send a strong message, the appeal court refused to increase the sentence.
The court found that the sentence was in line with “generally similar” cases.
These included a prison sentence of 26 years and eight months for the murder of a mother-of-two who was stabbed at least 14 times in her Wollongong home on New Year’s Eve 2019.
“My daughter’s case has been described as one of the worst cases of crime in NSW,” Ms Acret said.
“I didn’t want his legacy to be the release of violent criminals, and I also don’t want to see other families suffer like we did because of the justice system.”
Premier Chris Minns thanked the mother for her advocacy, which led to the state increasing penalties.
“No parent should have to endure what Tabitha went through, but she used her voice to drive real change to help protect others,” he said.
The government said the increase in the standard parole period for intimate partner murders would reveal the true seriousness of the crime and ensure perpetrators are held accountable.
The standard non-parole period for murder in NSW is 20 years.
Increasing the statute of limitations for domestic violence homicides to 25 years would bring them into compliance with some of the state’s harshest sentencing standards, including the killing of a child or a public official in the execution of his or her duty.
In the five years through June, 59 people, including 42 women, were killed by current or former partners in the state.
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