'I thought my mum had escaped her abusive ex. Then I saw a police post on Facebook.'

Content warning: This story discusses domestic violence.

Jacqui Purton dreamed of two things as a little girl; being a mother and owning horses.

That dream didn't diminish as the Tasmanian got older. The children came; four of them, first a girl and then three boys.

She acquired one horse, but her love of the animals proved strong and that one "spiralled" into 15, Jacqui's daughter, Shakira Robertson, told Mamamia with a laugh.

"She was always adamant that one day she was going to have horses. She was going to have a farm and get married and have lots of children," the 23-year-old said.

"She was a very outgoing mum. She had such a carefree attitude.

"She loved being outside, and quite frankly, if she was stuck inside for too long, she got antsy."

Jacqui Purton pictured.

In March 2023, at the age of 37, Jacqui's life was cut short when her ex-boyfriend, James Kenneth Austin, fatally hit her with a car.

Jacqui was trying to leave an isolated Campania property, 35km east of Hobart — alledgedly after an argument — when she was struck by a white Holden Commodore.

She died at the scene from significant injuries.

"She was my absolute best friend, and the one person on this planet that I knew. If I called her at the drop of a hat for something, she would be there," Shakira said.

"We found out on Facebook."

When Shakira opened Facebook on a quiet morning in March, she didn't expect to find the post that would shatter her world.

"We found out on Facebook," she said. "There was a post from Tasmania Police saying a woman had been hit and killed by a car in Campania, and a 37-year-old man was in custody. I read that post and instantly felt my heart sink. With some things, you just have a gut feeling.

"I tried calling Mum multiple times. It went straight to voicemail every time.

"That's when panic kicked in."

Jacqui Purton loved horses.

After seeing the post, Shakira called Jacqui's mother, her nan, who rushed to the police station.

"She was greeted by two officers who apparently had no idea what she was on about," Shakira said.

"They came back a little while later with their hats in their hands and apologised."

Austin had previously threatened to kill Jacqui and was controlling and violent in their "on-and-off-again" relationship which spanned four years, AAP reported.

Jacqui and Austin were no longer together at the time of her death — something Shakira said made the news even more bewildering.

"Finding out that morning was a massive shock to the system, not only because of the manner in how it had happened, but because I thought that that chapter was over," Shakira said.

"I actually didn't know that they were in talks again."

Shakira Robertson said her mum was her "best friend." Image: Supplied.

In the weeks that followed, grief morphed into resolve.

"Grief takes over in strange ways," Shakira said, adding she began reading every case she could find of deaths involving vehicles.

"I was honestly comparing them. I was going, 'OK, this was very similar in our scenario,' and I was comparing what their sentences got right across Australia.

What she discovered shocked her.

"That's when I actually learnt that Tasmania does not even view a motor vehicle as a weapon," she said.

A fight for justice.

In June 2025, Austin pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a Hobart court. The 40-year-old, who was initially charged with murder, was sentenced to 13 years' jail after pleading guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

He will be eligible for parole after serving eight years.

In sentencing in the Supreme Court of Tasmania, Justice Michael Brett said Austin went back to the house, "leaving her to die," AAP reported.

Shakira has launched Jacqui's Law in her mother's memory. Image: Supplied.

For Shakira, the plea deal didn't come as a shock, but the sentencing marked the beginning of a new fight; to change the law in her mother's name.

Jacqui's Law is a petition Shakira launched earlier this year. It calls for Tasmania to provide a stronger sentencing regime for domestic violence offenders who use vehicles to scare, intimidate, coerce, abuse, injure or kill. It also aims to "classify vehicles as weapons and for them to be treated with the same gravity as firearms."

"At the end of the day, a weapon is a weapon," she said. "If you kill someone with a pencil, you've used it as a weapon. So cars should be treated the same way every other weapon that is legally classed is treated."

Her campaign is gaining momentum, with signatures continuing to grow. She plans to meet with local MPs in coming weeks.

"I want to keep people talking about it and thinking about it," she said. "This is something that not only do I want, but that Tasmania needs. That our women need."

Living with the loss.

18 months on from Jacqui's death, her family is struggling to adjust to life without her.

"There are good days, and there are bad days with grief," Shakira admitted. "I've experienced grief through natural death before, and this is a grief that I know for a fact will never ever subside."

She finds strength in her three younger brothers, whom she now has custody of.

Shakira wants her mum to be remembered for who she was, not just what happened to her. Image: Supplied.

"I look at them every single day and I'm just so grateful that I have them because they just keep me going," Shakira said.

When asked how she wants her mother remembered, Shakira doesn't hesitate.

"For her to be remembered as a human being not just a statistic. To be remembered for the amazing woman she was," she said.

"As someone who loved her kids and her horses more than anything."

You can help Jacqui's Law by signing the petition here.

-WITH AAP

If this has raised any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) — the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service.

Feature image: Supplied.