A young woman who lost her mum to a senseless murder was forced to relive the trauma when she cleaned out her cupboards.
Rachel Tyquin was stabbed 19 times by a mentally impaired neighbour during an early morning walk in April last year.
The 44-year-old fitness trainer, who was engaged to be married, died on the nature strip in her activewear.
Eva Whitecross, 55, was found not guilty of the killing – which was allegedly committed in retaliation to a parking dispute – due to mental impairment.
Her daughter Elly read a moving victim impact statement to court this week, outlining how devastating her mum’s untimely death had been.
“I lost a part of me, the day mum died,” she said. “She was a strong, kind-hearted, caring, beautiful woman, and I was proud to call her my mum.”
When the 22-year-old was finally able to go through her mother’s belongings, she found old letters, photos and clothes and, most heartbreakingly, her 21st birthday gift.
“My birthday present, half finished, was hidden in her wardrobe,” Elly said. “It included a music box on which she had written ‘Happy 21st, beautiful daughter. Love Mum’.
“Finding that gift broke me. The song it played, I couldn’t listen to it for months.”
After the attack, the court heard Whitecross walked home, had a shower and made a cup of coffee before driving to the police station.
The stabbing came after seven years of “vile” abuse hurled at the victim as her delusions grew, often calling her a “moll” and a “whore”.
Justice Jane Dixon on Wednesday ordered Whitecross to live at a psychiatric facility indefinitely, with a 25-year nominal term.
