Bonnie was 'torturously' attacked at home, she died 16 months later

Bonnie Lee Anderson is being laid to rest on Friday.

She died two weeks ago, 16 months after being mercilessly attacked in her Canberra home by a man she knew well.

Bonnie Lee Anderson is remembered as a loving mother of six, and eldest of four sisters. Pictures supplied

Old photos of Bonnie and her smiling sisters show the loving and affectionate bond of young siblings.

Her family is now saying goodbye but they'll remember her as more than a victim of family violence. Bonnie was a loving mother to six children, and an endearingly "irritating big sister" to three younger girls.

She was with family in her final moments.

Bonnie was stabbed 11 times and relentlessly burnt with a makeshift blowtorch as a horrified and helpless neighbour watched on.

When police reached the scene of that neighbour's distress call on September 28, 2022, they were confronted by unimaginable horror.

Bonnie's callous attacker and "on and off" partner of several years, Daryl Allan Robertson, has been behind bars since.

He is serving a 27-year sentence for attempted murder.

When the serial family violence offender was sentenced in December for one of the most heinous crimes our city has ever seen, Bonnie's identity was protected in the media.

Bonnie, right, and sister Jessie-Rae were inseperable as kids. Picture supplied

With her family's permission, she is now named.

Bonnie never left hospital care following the attack. She finally succumbed to her injuries last month, 17 days after her 39th birthday.

'My big sister'

Bonnie Lee Anderson was loved.

Jessie-Rae Russell told The Canberra Times the assault that killed her sister defied belief.

"I couldn't fathom that someone would want to do that to her," Ms Russell said.

"She was my big sister."

Asked what she most remembered about her oldest sibling, Ms Russell spoke about how inseparable the pair were as kids. They were often made to wear the same outfits.

She spoke with great affection about the love Bonnie had for her children.

"She had a good heart. She had good friends. We were part of an awesome community," Ms Russell said.

'[Bonnie] had a good heart. She had good friends.'

"She would torment me and I would torment her back."

Ms Russell said the traumatic attack on her sister had deeply affected anyone in contact with it, from extended family to first responders.

The exact nature of Bonnie's fatal injuries and ensuing complications cannot be revealed for legal reasons.

'Beyond redemption'

Robertson was disgracefully nonchalant when asked by officers first on the scene of the attack where he had hidden the "blowtorch".

Despite his weaponised flames being large enough to tower over seven-foot fences and into the view of panicked neighbours, the man replied: "It's just an aerosol, chief."

Chief Justice Lucy McCallum would describe the 53-year-old attacker as "beyond redemption" when she sentenced him to 27 years in jail, setting a two decade non-parole period.

"The circumstances of the attempted murder were horrific," the territory's top judicial officer said at the time.

It's understood authorities are now considering further charges against Robertson.

Prosecutor Beth Morrisroe previously described the attack as "sustained and torturous", "callous and vicious".

"If the offender's endeavour to murder the victim had not been frustrated by police, the victim would have died a terrifying and horrific death," Ms Morrisroe submitted to the court last year.

The attack

The crime began with Robertson hiding outside Bonnie's bedroom window to listen to her phone calls.

He let himself inside the house to carry out the protracted and unprovoked assault, which escalated from shouting and snatching the victim's phone to repeatedly stabbing and cutting her with a metal carving knife.

With the attacker returning to the kitchen, the victim willed herself up and ran towards the home's back door.

Her screams awoke the neighbour.

"Call police, call an ambulance," Bonnie told her neighbour, who got dressed and eventually made her way outside.

Bonnie with her three younger sisters. Picture supplied

But court documents outline how by that time, Robertson had already "commenced burning Ms Anderson using a large cylindrical spray can and a piece of newspaper that he had lit on fire using the kitchen stove".

On the phone with emergency services, the neighbour desperately tried to reassure the victim "that help was on its way" while begging the assailant to stop.

An empty aerosol can didn't stop Robertson's senseless torture.

He found and used several more cans, and a burning rag, to continue an assault said to have lasted 10 minutes.

Arriving and finally arresting Robertson, officers asked: "How did you burn her?"

The cuffed man responded: "The flame, the flame from the aerosol can."

'Worst category of offending'

Police body-worn camera footage of the arrest shows Robertson was more "interested in putting on his trousers" than in officer demands or the wellbeing of his partner.

"I am satisfied that the offence plainly falls within the worst category of offending of this kind," Chief Justice McCallum said last year in her sentencing remarks.

It's believed the sentence she handed Robertson could be the longest in ACT history for the crime of attempted murder.

He only escaped a life sentence due to his guilty plea.

The offender was also convicted of an attempted family violence order breach committed weeks after the assault.

Trying to send Bonnie a Christmas card had the appearance of being "deliberately cruel and manipulative", the judge said.

Robertson had previously been convicted of assaulting his partner on multiple occasions throughout their relationship and had failed to comply with requirements to complete an anger management course.

Whether the man will face further consequences for his reprehensible crime remains to be seen.

• Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; MensLine 1300 789 978; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732.