'My daughter dreamed of teaching yoga and moving to Byron. She was murdered before she got the chance.'

Tabitha Acret, the mother of Mackenzie Anderson, wants her daughter to be remembered for the woman she was, not the crime that happened to her.

However, Tabitha admits that it's been harder than anticipated given the nature of her daughter's violent murder.

Mackenzie, 21, was stabbed 78 times at her home in Mayfield, Newcastle in March 2022 after her former partner Tyrone Thompson broke in.

At the time, he was on parole for multiple domestic violence offences against the mother-of-one, and had breached an apprehended domestic violence order (AVO) in place to protect Mackenzie eight times.

Mackenzie was 21 at the time of her murder. She was the mother to a young son. Image: Supplied.

Earlier this month, Thompson was jailed for 22 years and six months, with a non-parole period of 15 years and six months.

Beyond the sentence, which Tabitha called "mortifying," she wants Australia to know her daughter was funny and opinionated.

"She was really strong in her convictions if she believed in something. She'd been a vegetarian since she was 12 years old," Tabitha told Mamamia, adding that she dreamed of moving to Byron Bay to become a yoga teacher.

Above everything, Mackenzie loved being a mother to her son, who was almost two-years-old at the time of her murder.

"She loved him a lot and it's very sad he only got one Christmas and one birthday with her," Tabitha said.

"It was very quick that he would have more without her than with her, and unfortunately he won't have any memories with her."

Tabitha is now raising her grandson, alongside her own 11-year-old boy. She has the hard task of trying to shield them from the details of the case, while keeping Mackenzie's memory alive with photos.

Mackenzie Anderson was funny, opinionated and had strong convictions. Image: Supplied.

"We have got to keep reminding him that she didn't choose to leave," Tabitha said. "I never want him to think she's abandoned him.

"When you're two and your mum never comes back again, you don't understand why."

Tabitha explained that her grandson is starting to understand the truth of his mother's death: "He said to me a little while ago in the car: 'Why did that person kill my mum?', and I've never talked about it (with him)."

She suspects he does remember something about the night Mackenzie was killed, as he was present that night.

"We've kept things quiet in front of them," she said, adding she sought the help of a psychologist in the immediate aftermath of Mackenzie's murder.

"They said straight away, 'don't lie', because they can find out and then they won't trust you and that creates another layer of problems."

A long campaign for justice lies ahead.

Tabitha is horrified at Thompson's sentence and said it absolutely blindsided her when it was handed down by the judge.

"I passed out when I left the (court) room," she said. "I just couldn't keep it together.

"Judges don't have to read the facts in so much detail and he read those facts for two hours in horrific detail. We found out new information that we didn't know.

"We thought it was because he was about to deliver a record sentence in Australia.

"When he said the non-parole of 15 years, I thought I'm going to physically vomit in the room."

Tabitha with her daughter Mackenzie. Image: Supplied.

"My daughter was stabbed 78 times in front of a child, while the person broke an AVO," she continued.

"They are calling my daughter's death one of the worst DV deaths NSW has ever seen. The sentence does not match."

Tabitha has already lodged an appeal against the sentence and met with NSW Premier Chris Minns last week to discuss it.

"He also agreed that this isn't appropriate sentencing in Australia, but unfortunately, the state government is separate to the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions)," she said.

"It's now up to the DPP to agree whether this appeal can go to an application of appeal and then a court needs to decide, then it will go to three judges to decide if the sentence was fair or not.

"So we have a fight ahead of us … But I'm not going to stop, because every woman's life in Australia actually depends on this.

"This is about the safety of all women and I'm not going to shut up."

If you or anyone you know needs to speak with an expert, please contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) — the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service. If you are in immediate danger, call 000.

Feature image: Supplied.